Retrospective Flow Cytometric Data Review of Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma Cases to Explore Disease Outcomes

Abstract

Flow cytometry is an emerging method in detecting and diagnosing classic Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL). There is increasing evidence that the tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a significant role in the prognosis and clinical outcome of the disease. In this study, ten different parameters were assessed and correlated to outcome. A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed by analyzing flow cytometric data collected from 62 patients at presentation who were diagnosed with cHL. Correlation was made from TME cellular composition to clinical outcome. The composition of the TME varied between patients who achieved complete remission compared to those who relapsed or whose disease had progressed. The T-cell rosetted fraction of Hodgkin-Reed Sternberg (HRS) cells showed a significant correlation to outcome. However, the %CD20 B-cells, %CD5 T-cells, %HRS cells, percentage of activated B-cells and T-cells characterized by CD71 expression, ratio of CD4+/CD8+ T-cells, %eosinophils, %neutrophils, and eosinophil/neutrophil ratio did not show significant correlation to outcome. This study shows that the fraction of T-cell rosetted Hodgkin-Reed Sternberg cells at presentation may be a biomarker in predicting outcome in cHL.