Deep Sequencing of Immunoglobulin Genes Identifies a Very Low Percentage of Monoclonal B Cells in Primary Cutaneous Marginal Zone Lymphomas with CD30-Positive Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg-like Cells

Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 Jan 24;12(2):290. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12020290.

Abstract

The spectrum of cutaneous CD30-positive lymphoproliferative disorders encompasses both inflammatory and neoplastic conditions. CD30+ Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg-like cells have been occasionally reported in primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma, where they are thought to represent a side neoplastic component within a dominant background of lymphomatous small B cells. Herein, we describe the histological and molecular findings of three cases of primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphomas with CD30+ H/RS cells, in which next-generation sequencing analysis revealed the clonal population to consist in less than 5% of the cutaneous B-cell infiltrate, providing a thought-provoking focus on a possible main role for CD30+ cells in primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoproliferations.

Keywords: Hodgkin and Reed–Stemberg cells; IGH and IGK rearrangements; NGS; cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma.