Histomorphological and Morphometric Evaluation of Microvessel Density in Nodal Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Using CD34 and CD105.

Expression of angiogenic markers determined by microvessel density (MVD) could be used as a reliable predictor of prognosis and as a potential target for antiangiogenic therapy in different categories of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).  The aim of this study was to evaluate MVD using immunohistochemical methods and computer-assisted quantitative image analysis in nodal NHL patients and compare CD34 and CD105 expression in lymph nodes of NHL patients.  The present study was conducted on 60 lymph node biopsies received in the Department of Pathology at our tertiary care center for histopathological examination. Representative paraffin-embedded tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin along with immunohistochemical stains for CD34 and CD105. MVDs were analyzed at 400× using automated image analyzer by two investigators independently.  Data were calculated, tabulated, and statistically analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Studies) statistical program version 18. The values entered were mean of morphometric parameters. In all tests, -values below 0.05 were regarded as significant.  MVD was determined by CD34 and CD105 antibody highly correlated with different categories of NHL. Higher MVD was observed in cases of aggressive NHL as compared with indolent NHL and the difference was statistically significantly. MVD using CD105 was correlated more strongly as compared to CD34 with different categories of NHL.  The present study concluded that NHL exhibits potent angiogenic activity that increased significantly with increasing aggressiveness. The study also demonstrated that CD105 is more specific than CD34 as a marker of neoangiogenesis in NHL.