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CD4-positive diffuse large B cell lymphoma identified by flow cytometry: two case reports

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Abstract

We report two cases of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), both occurring in the small bowel, which coexpress PAX5, weak or no CD20 and the CD4 antigen. The CD4 was initially identified by flow cytometry and then confirmed by immunohistochemistry. CD4 is a representative marker for helper T-lymphocytes and is present on a subset of thymocytes, peripheral T cells and monocytes or macrophages. Unlike CD2 and CD5, no B cell fractions are known to express CD4. It might be hypothesized that the deregulated control of gene expression in malignant B cells, in particular PAX5, leads to the activation of some silent or repressed genes of T cell differentiation. Although lineage infidelity is described in some B lymphomas, it remains as an uncommon phenomenon; to our knowledge, cases reported here are the first two cases of DLBCL of the gastrointestinal tract coexpressing the CD4 antigen to be described to date.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have no conflicts to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Pathology, Department of Pathology, Molinette Hospital, Turin, Italy

    Marisa Arrondini, Antonella Barreca & Domenico Novero

  2. Flow Cytometry Unit, Department of Pathology, Molinette Hospital, Turin, Italy

    Sabrina Aliberti, Anna Demurtas & Alessandra Stacchini

  3. Center for Experimental Research and Medical Studies (CERMS), Turin, Italy

    Fabrizio Tondat

  4. II Servizio di Anatomia Patologica, Ospedale Molinette, via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy

    Alessandra Stacchini

Authors
  1. Marisa Arrondini
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  2. Antonella Barreca
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  3. Sabrina Aliberti
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  4. Anna Demurtas
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  5. Fabrizio Tondat
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  6. Domenico Novero
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  7. Alessandra Stacchini
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Correspondence to Alessandra Stacchini.

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Arrondini, M., Barreca, A., Aliberti, S. et al. CD4-positive diffuse large B cell lymphoma identified by flow cytometry: two case reports. Int J Hematol 92, 198–203 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-010-0631-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-010-0631-8

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