Intraocular lymphoma. Immunopathologic analysis of vitreous biopsy specimens
D. J. Wilson, R. Braziel and J. T. Rosenbaum
Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland.
Immunologic analysis of cell surface markers (immunophenotyping) has become
a standard procedure in the evaluation of systemic lymphomas. However,
attempts to apply these techniques to intraocular lymphoma have not been
uniformly successful. We successfully immunophenotyped five consecutive
cases of intraocular lymphoma using immunoperoxidase surface marker
analysis of cytocentrifuged specimens in two cases and flow cytometry in
three. In all five cases, a monoclonal B-cell population was unequivocally
present. Contrary to previous reports, we found surface marker analysis of
vitreous biopsy specimens to be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of
intraocular lymphoma. Not only did it support the cytologic diagnosis but
it allowed comparison of the immunophenotype of vitreous infiltrates with
that of previous or subsequent lymphomatous lesions from nonocular sites.
