Extramedullary tumors of lymphoid or myeloid blasts. The role of immunohistology in diagnosis and classification.

The diagnosis of primitive hematologic malignancies in extramedullary sites (lymphoblastic lymphoma of T- or B-cell type and myeloid sarcoma) on paraffin-embedded tissue sections is difficult and often impossible because of the primitive morphology of the neoplastic cells. The authors studied 21 extramedullary tumors of lymphoid or myeloid blasts. They used a panel of 22 antibodies on frozen sections and 9 antibodies on paraffin sections to determine the spectrum of immunophenotypes and to develop a practical panel for diagnosis. All but two of the cases could be classified as lymphoid or myeloid using immunohistologic analysis. Thirteen cases were classified as lymphoblastic lymphoma/acute lymphoblastic leukemia (LBL/ALL); 10 were classified as precursor T (CD7+, CD3+/-, CD45+) and 3 as precursor B-cell (CD19+/-CD10+CD45-) type. Five cases were classified as myeloid sarcoma (CD13+ myeloperoxidase+, lysozyme+). Two LBL/ALL coexpressed either CD33 (1 case) or CD15 (1 case), and one myeloid sarcoma coexpressed TdT and CD7. One case appeared to be truly mixed lineage, coexpressing CD3 with myeloperoxidase and lysozyme, and two cases expressed no lineage-specific antigens. There were clinical differences between the three major tumor types, and within the category of T-precursor LBL/ALL, classification according to stage of thymocyte differentiation was associated with distinctive clinical features. In conclusion, the spectrum of immunophenotypes detected on frozen section was similar to that reported by flow cytometry on peripheral blood and bone marrow specimens. The most useful antigens on frozen sections were CD7 and CD3 (T cell), CD10 and CD19 (B cell), and CD13 (myeloid). TdT was coexpressed by one myeloid sarcoma and was undetectable in 40% of LBL/ALL. On paraffin sections, myeloperoxidase and lysozyme were reliable markers of myeloid lineage, but none of the markers used on paraffin sections distinguished between LBL/ALL of T- and B-precursor types. Both B-LBL/ALL and myeloid sarcomas were often CD45- on paraffin sections, which may be a obstacle in determining the diagnosis. These distinctions appear to have clinical relevance.