Research
Comparison of germinal center markers CD10, BCL6 and human germinal center-associated lymphoma (HGAL) in follicular lymphomas
Author affiliations
1 Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Pathological Anatomy, Polytechnic University of Marche Region, Ancona Hospital, Ancona, Italy
2 Department of Molecular and Clinical Sciences, Histology, Polytechnic University of Marche Region, Ancona, Italy
3 Department of Molecular and Clinical Sciences, Clinic of Hematology, Polytechnic University of Marche Region, Ancona Hospital, Ancona, Italy
Citation and License
Diagnostic Pathology 2011, 6:97 doi:10.1186/1746-1596-6-97
Published: 11 October 2011Abstract
Background
Recently, human germinal center-associated lymphoma (HGAL) gene protein has been proposed as an adjunctive follicular marker to CD10 and BCL6.
Methods
Our aim was to evaluate immunoreactivity for HGAL in 82 cases of follicular lymphomas (FLs) - 67 nodal, 5 cutaneous and 10 transformed - which were all analysed histologically, by immunohistochemistry and PCR.
Results
Immunostaining for HGAL was more frequently positive (97.6%) than that for BCL6 (92.7%) and CD10 (90.2%) in FLs; the cases negative for bcl6 and/or for CD10 were all positive for HGAL, whereas the two cases negative for HGAL were positive with BCL6; no difference in HGAL immunostaining was found among different malignant subtypes or grades.
Conclusions
Therefore, HGAL can be used in the immunostaining of FLs as the most sensitive germinal center (GC)-marker; when applied alone, it would half the immunostaining costs, reserving the use of the other two markers only to HGAL-negative cases.
Virtual Slides
The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1255638215567329 webcite.
