Abstract
Four cases of Hodgkin's disease from 1975 to 1980 were examined cytologically and compared with 38 cases of non Hodgkin's lymphoma, 2 cases of multiple myeloma, 2 cases of immunoblastic lymphadenopathy, 1 case of erythroleukemia, materials from ascites and pleural fluid, T cell line (molt), and B cell line (Raji).
Although the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease is based upon the findings of characteristic Sternberg-Reed cells and mononuclear so-called Hodgkin cells, closely resembling cells could be found in almost all the cases other than Hodgkin's disease. Especially those cells of both T and B cell type immunoblastic sarcoma and of B cell line (Raji) were indis-tinguishable morphologically from Hodgkin cells.
We think a fairly large number of cases in immunoblastic sarcoma and immunoblastic lymphadenopathy have been misdiagnosed for Hodgkin's disease, so the frequency of Hodgkin's disease is not so much as has been mentioned.
Hodgkin cells showed morphological variations from normal looking cells to very atypical pleomorphic cells, and they transformed from typical Hodgkin cells to more atypical pleomorphic cells as the histological process of Hodgkin's disease evolved. So it seems to be difficult to distinguish diagnostic Hodgkin cells from other resembling cells.
Hodgkin cells and resembling cells were also studied with immunohistochemical techniques. And from the result of these studies, we think that Hodgkin cell originated from immunoblasts which are transformed from T and B immunoblasts
