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Flow cytometry with gene rearrangement and cytology may increase identification of T cell lymphoma
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LA JOLLA, Calif. — Flow cytometry in conjunction with gene rearrangement and cytology may identify more cases of T cell lymphoma, according to a study presented here.
“T cells have critical functions in the body. They perform surveillance for pathogens, for tumors and a variety of auto-antigens,” Janet L. Davis, MD, said at the American Ophthalmological Society meeting.
Janet L. Davis
The retrospective study comprised 78 patients with uveitis or lymphoma who were selected for intraocular testing because of uncertainty regarding the clinical diagnosis. The patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy, flow cytometry, gene rearrangement studies and cytology.
T cell infiltrates were discovered in all diagnostic categories, which limited the ability to discriminate between uveitis and lymphoma, Davis said.
Two sample tests of means between the group means were statistically significant between 35 uveitis cases and 35 B cell lymphoma cases for T cell markers CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5 and CD7 but not for CD8. The results were highly dependent on case selections, she said.
The CD4-CD8 ratio showed a greater mean value in the uveitis group (P = .0113), and there was a statistically higher number of CD3+ lymphocytes in the eight T cell lymphomas compared with uveitis (P = .0199).
Davis said that gene rearrangement has the best potential for being a gold standard test.
Disclosure: Davis has no relevant financial disclosures.