Klin Onkol 1997; 10(5): 143-144.
Hodgkin´s disease combines characteristics of an inflammatory process with those of a true neoplasia in a unique fashion Epidemiological features of the disease, clinical characteristics, and the demostration of activated T-lymphocytes representing the predominant population in affected lymphatic tissue, point to a pronounced but insufficient T-cell-response against a yet undefined (viral) target antigen expressed on Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells. Micromanipulation of single Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells from primary tissue followed by enzymatic amplification of their DNA represents a methodological breakthrough for the genetic analysis of this disease. First results obtained with this method have provided evidence that Hodgkin´s disease, at least in the majority of cases analyzed, represents a monoclonal B cell disorder.
