The surface antigens expressed by the cells of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are well known. Most CLL are monoclonal B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders characterized by the coexpression of B-cell antigens and CD5, an antigen present predominantly on T cells. Very little attention, however, has been paid to the quantitative characteristics of the expression of B-cell antigens in CLL. In this study, we used flow cytometry to analyze the expression of CD20, a well-known B-cell-associated antigen, in lymphocytes from 42 cases of CLL and its tissue counterpart, small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and compared the results with results obtained from the analysis of 21 follicular lymphomas, 20 hyperplastic reactive nodes, and 26 samples of normal peripheral blood. The intensity of CD20 expression in the CLL/SLL cells was significantly lower than that of B cells in the other categories. This antigen expression abnormality does not appear to be a universal phenomenon in CLL/SLL, since CD19, another pan-B antigen, was expressed in CLL/SLL at levels higher than those in follicular lymphomas and comparable to those in reactive lymph nodes. These results indicate that the low CD20 expression can be used as a marker for CLL/SLL. The few cases exhibiting intense CD20 expression may represent a biologically different disease. CLL/SLL cells faintly expressing CD20 also show concomitant low CD5 expression in a manner not observed in normal CD5-expressing B cells.

IntroductionAlthough breast carcinoma (BC) is the most common malignancy affecting Jordanian females and the affected population in Jordan is younger than that in the West, no information is available on its biological characteristics. Our aims in this study are to evaluate the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu overexpression in BC in Jordan, and to compare the expression of these with other prognostic parameters for BC such as histological type, histological grade, tumor size, patients' age, and number of lymph node metastases.MethodThis is a retrospective study conducted in the Department of Pathology at Jordan University of Science and Technology. A confirmed 91 cases of BC diagnosed in the period 1995 to 1998 were reviewed and graded. We used immunohistochemistry to evaluate the expression of ER, PR, and Her-2. Immunohistochemical findings were correlated with age, tumor size, grade and axillary lymph node status.ResultsHer-2 was overexpressed in 24% of the cases. The mean age of Her-2 positive cases was 42 years as opposed to 53 years among Her-2 negative cases (p = 0.0001). Her-2 expression was inversely related to ER and PR expression. Her-2 positive tumors tended to be larger than Her-2 negative tumors with 35% overexpression among T3 tumors as opposed to 22% among T2 tumors (p = 0.13). Her-2 positive cases tended to have higher rates of axillary metastases, but this did not reach statistical significance. ER and PR positive cases were seen in older patients with smaller tumor sizes.ConclusionHer-2 overexpression was seen in 24% of BC affecting Jordanian females. Her-2 overexpression was associated with young age at presentation, larger tumor size, and was inversely related to ER and PR expression. One-fifth of the carcinomas were Her-2 positive and ER negative. This group appears to represent an aggressive form of BC presenting at a young age with large primary tumors and a high rate of four or more axillary lymph node metastases.

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