Mummified cells are a common finding in cutaneous Hodgkin lymphoma and can be used as a diagnostic clue
Abstract
Specific cutaneous involvement in Hodgkin lymphoma israre. In cutaneous lesions, the diagnosis is usually based on therecognition of diagnostic Reed-Sternberg cells and its variants.
Innodal Hodgkin lymphoma, so-called mummified cells (cells with con-densed cytoplasm and pyknotic eosinophilic or basophilic nuclei) areoften seen. They are sometimes conspicuous and easy to recognize,thus serving as a clue to the diagnosis.
Our objective was to studycases of cutaneous Hodgkin lymphoma to identify the occurrence ofmummified cells. We studied 12 patients (4 women and 8 men; agerange 23-80 years).
In 6 patients, cutaneous and extracutaneous dis-ease was identified almost simultaneously; in 4 patients, lymph nodedisease preceded cutaneous involvement; and in the remaining 2 pa-tients, the skin lesions were the presenting sign, whereas lymph nodeinvolvement occurred later. Histopathological, immunohistochemical,and molecular-genetic studies, including rearrangements for TCR, IgHgenes, and PCR for EBV, were performed.
Cutaneous biopsy speci-mens revealed either a multinodular or diffuse infiltrate, includedsmall lymphocytes, eosinophils, plasma cells, and macrophages, butin all cases, diagnostic Reed-Sternberg cells and its variants wereidentified. Mummified cells were detected in 9 cases, either as occa-sional scattered mummified cells often requiring a search (6 cases) orbeing conspicuous, grouped and therefore easily identified (3 cases).Immunohistochemically, in all 7 cases studied, mummified cells werepositive for both CD30 and CD15.
It is concluded that mummifiedcells are encountered in a majority of cases of cutaneous Hodgkinlymphoma.