Prognostic significance of lymphocytic surface markers and histology in adult non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Neoplastic tissues from 75 adults with non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma, histologically classified according to the Rappaport schema, were studied for B- and T-lymphocyte surface markers. All nodular poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphomas and diffuse well-differentiated lymphocytic lymphomas were B cell. Of 30 diffuse poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphomas 16 were B, five were T, and nine were "null"; of ten diffuse histiocytic lymphomas, seven were B and three were null. In patients with diffuse lymphoma, those whose malignant cells demonstrated B markers survived significantly longer than those whose malignant cells demonstrated no markers. The prognostic capabilities of the Rappaport histologic classification and surface marker studies were compared. For patients with diffuse lymphomas, classification as B or null more accurately predicted survival than did identification as lymphocytic or histiocytic. However, survival was best predicted by a classification combining the Rappaport histologic scheme with surface marker studies.