Malignant Lymphomas Exhibiting Positive Immunohistochemical Staining for Neuron Specdic Enolase

Abstract

AbstractImmunohistochemical staining for neuron specific enolase, an enzyme expressed primarily by neural and neuroendocrine tissues, has been used to augment routine light microscopy in the distinction of neuroendocrine tumors (such as oat cell and Merkel cell carcinomas) from malignant lymphomas. While using this marker in our diagnostic work, we encountered four strongly neuron specific enolase positive neoplasms that were shown on further evaluation to be large-cell lymphomas. We then retrospectively stained formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of twenty-two cases of large-cell lymphoma for neuron specific enolase and identified another two neuron specific enolase positive lymphomas. This report summarizes the features of these six neuron specific enolase positive lymphomas. (The J of Histotechnol 11: 37, 1988.)