We have shown previously that
cancer/testis (CT)
antigen, CT45, is expressed in various epithelial
cancers at a frequency of <5% to approximately 35%. In this study, the
protein expression of CT45 was examined in non-Hodgkin
B-cell lymphomas and classical
Hodgkin lymphoma by immunohistochemical analysis. Serological response to CT45 was also evaluated by ELISA using CT45
recombinant protein and sera from patients with
Hodgkin lymphoma. None of the 80 low-grade
B-cell lymphomas, including
chronic lymphocytic leukemia/
small lymphocytic lymphoma,
follicular lymphoma, and
mantle cell lymphoma, expressed CT45. In comparison, CT45 was expressed in 28 of 126 (22%) diffuse large
B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). A remarkably high percentage (42/72, 58%) of classical
Hodgkin lymphoma contained CT45-positive Reed-Sternberg cells. Nodular
sclerosis and mixed-cellularity subtypes had similar frequency of CT45 expression, but most EBV-positive cases were CT45 negative. Gray-zone
lymphoma (cases with features of both DLBCL and classical
Hodgkin lymphoma) also showed frequent (64%) CT45 expression. Evaluation of reactive lymphoid tissues showed scattered CT45-positive lymphocytes in a single case of florid follicular
hyperplasia, raising the possibility that this case was an evolving
malignancy. Despite frequent CT45 expression, only 1 of 67
Hodgkin lymphoma patients had detectable anti-CT45
antibodies in the serum, suggesting that the immune response to CT45 may be suppressed. In conclusion, classical
Hodgkin lymphoma has the highest frequency of CT45 expression among all
malignancies tested to date, the frequency of CT45 expression in DLBCL is similar to that seen in epithelial
cancers, and low-grade non-Hodgkin
B-cell lymphomas do not express CT45.