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A Multidisciplinary Approach to Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas
- COSTAN W. BERARD, M.D.;
- MARK H. GREENE, M.D.;
- ELAINE S. JAFFE, M.D.;
- IAN MAGRATH, M.B.; and
- JOHN ZIEGLER, M.D.
Abstract
Epidemiologic studies show that non-Hodgkin's lymphomas tend to develop after prolonged antigenic stimulation, after loss of normal regulation of lymphoid proliferation, or especially after both processes. Study of these tumors in vitro has greatly increased understanding of their pathophysiology and has provided a conceptual framework for their morphologic diversity. Lymphomas are now understood to be expanded clones of their normal counterparts. The anatomic location, phenotypic characteristics, proliferative capacity, and functional capabilities of the neoplasm often reflect those of the equivalent normal cells. If neoplastic transformation can occur at any stage of lymphoid differentiation, then it is theoretically possible that neoplastic lymphocytes may respond, or could be induced to respond, to normal regulatory influences. Further study of selective cytotoxicity may reveal exploitable differences among lymphocytic subpopulations and permit more rational choices of therapy. Of major aid to future clinical trials should be the recent consensus on nomenclature by an international panel of experts.
Article and Author Information
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▸An edited transcription of a Clinical Staff Conference at the Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, 24 April 1980, by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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▸Authors who wish to cite a section of this conference and specifically indicate its author can use this example for the form of reference:
GREENE MH. Clinical and environmental predisposing factors, pp. 218-22. In: BERARD CW, moderator. A multidisciplinary approach to non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Ann Intern Med. 1980; 94:218-35.
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▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Elaine S. Jaffe, M.D., Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20205.
