NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA CONTAINING BOTH B-CELL AND T-CELL CLONES

  • 1 July 1987
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 70  (1) , 287-292
Abstract
We describe a patient in whom two lymph node biopsies removed 18 months apart disclosed histologic and immunophenotypic evidence of a non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma containing neoplastic lymphocytes of both B and T type. Analyses of immunoglobin and T cell receptor genes confirmed the presence of separate B and T cell clones. In addition, immunogenotyping revealed the possibility of a second B cell clone within the patient''s tumor. Development of a multiclonal lymphoma in this parent may relate to the carcinogenic effects of chemotherapy or to a predisposition for neoplastic transformation of lymphocytes due to a previously diagnosed autoimmune condition. Another possible explanation is that the lymphoma implies the existence in this patient of a transformed lymphocyte-committed stem cell that is capable of generating both B and T lineage clones.