Objective: To study the significance of B-cell clones in angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL) and the correlation with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and prognosis.
Method: The histopathologic features, T cell clonality and EBV positivity in 33 cases of AITL and 10 cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) collected from May 2010 to February 2014 were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, PCR gene rearrangement and in situ hybridization. Follow-up data were also collected.
Results: Of the 33 cases with AITL, seven cases (21.2%) exhibited clonal rearrangement of Ig genes; 21 cases (63.6%) were EBV positive. Seven cases had B-cell clones and all (7/7) were EBV positive; 14 of the 26 (53.8%) cases without B-cell clones were EBV positive. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P = 0.032). Four levels were made according to the number of EBV-labeled cells, Ig gene rearrangements, but there was no significant difference among levels 1, 2 and 3. There was no correlation between B-cell clones and prognosis (P = 0.263).
Conclusion: Clonal rearrangement of Ig genes is a common finding in AITL, and it is highly associated with EBV positivity, but not with the number of EBV-labeled cells. The clinical significance remains unclear; further study with more samples is warranted.