T-cell subsets in lymph nodes identify a subgroup of follicular lymphoma patients with favorable outcome.

We have analyzed in lymph nodes at diagnosis of 75 patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) the relationship between different T-cell subpopulations, assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and flow cytometry (FC), with the outcome. CD4(+) cells were the most abundant T-cells in tumor tissue sections, whilst CD57(+) cells were the less frequent. In addition to nonambulatory performance status, advanced stage and FLIPI, low CD4(+)CD57(+)/CD4(+) ratio (p = .041), and low CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio (p = .008) predicted poor overall survival (OS). Multivariate analysis showed that CD4(+)CD57(+)/CD4(+)ratio was the most important variable for OS. In conclusion, T-cell subpopulations, including CD4(+)CD5(+)/CD4(+) ratio analyzed by FC, could identify FL patients with favorable outcome.