Immune markers in the diagnosis of malignant lymphomas.

The concept that hematopoietic neoplasms can be related phenotypically and functionally to their normal counterparts in the immune system has greatly improved our understanding of this clinically and morphologically complex group of malignancies. On a practical level, the development of monoclonal antibodies has provided an unlimited supply of highly specific reagents, each reactive with an individual antigenic determinant. Monoclonal antibodies reactive with lymphoid and monocytic subsets can be used in the classification, primary diagnosis and staging of hematopoietic malignancies.