The immunophenotype of T-lymphoblastic lymphoma in children and adolescents: A children's oncology group report

T-lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) and T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) are neoplasms derived from immature lymphoid cells of T-cell lineage. These neoplasms are biologically similar, but significant differences may exist between the two given their clinical differences. Although ample data regarding the immunophenotypic characterization T-ALL are available, there is a paucity of such data in children and adolescents with T-LBL. We used flow cytometry and/or immunohistochemistry to characterize the immunophenotypic profile of 180 children and adolescents with newly diagnosed T-LBL enrolled in the Children's Oncology Group 5971 study. Multiple T-cell, B-cell, myeloid, and other markers were evaluated. We identified diagnostically useful immunophenotypic features of T-LBL as well as distinct immunophenotypic subgroups, although none of these was statistically related to event-free or overall survival in this retrospective analysis. Further studies of biologically and immunophenotypically distinct subgroups of T-LBL, such as the early T-cell precursor phenotype, are warranted.