Follicular Lymphoma
Peripheral Blood Involvement by Follicular Lymphoma
- Circulating neoplastic lymphocytes can be found in many patients with follicular lymphoma
- 18% by standard light microscopy
- 60% by PCR
- When leukemic this is termed "lymphosarcoma cell leukemia"
- No published guidelines for definition of leukemic
- Cytologic appearance on smears
- Cleaved cells appear to have notched nuclei, termed "buttock cells"
- Clumped chromatin
- Scant blue cytoplasm
- No known specific correlation between circulating cells and remission/relapse or prognosis
- More common with Stages III and IV
