The significance of the number of centroblasts in centroblastic/centrocytic lymphomas. A long term study in a large group of patients.

A group of 385 centroblastic/centrocytic lymphomas with long follow-up periods was subdivided on the basis of the relative number of centroblasts in the initial biopsies. Only minor differences in overall survival were found although a different survival pattern was observed between the groups. The transition into a high-grade malignant secondary centroblastic lymphoma correlated, at a statistically significant level, with the relative number of centroblasts in the initial biopsy.