INTERLEUKIN-6-ASSOCIATED LABORATORY PARAMETERS AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY IN SYMPTOMATIC STAGE-A AND STAGE-B NODULAR SCLEROSING HODGKINS-DISEASE IN CHILDREN

Interleukin (IL)-6-associated laboratory parameters obtained at diagno sis on 17 children with histologically confirmed nodular sclerosing Ho dgkin's disease (NSHD) are reported. When these patients were grouped as either symptomatic stage A or B, they were found to he similar in e xtent of disease, age, and gender. However, statistically significant differences between these two groups were observed for the means of th e following IL-6-associated laboratory parameters: hematocrit (p = 0.0 19), platelet count (p = 0.009), serum albumin (p = 0.001), and ferrit in (p = 0.037) concentrations. Moreover, trend analysis of abnormalcy revealed an increasing frequency of anemia, thrombocytosis, hypoalbumi nemia, and hyperferritinemia between stage A and B patients and, when available, febrile controls (p values = 0.0012, 0.0009, 0.0406, and 0. 0011, respectively). Correspondingly, IL-6 immunohistochemistry perfor med on archival material from representative cases in each group showe d greater overall reactivity in specimens from stage B patients. A var iety of cells accounted for this positivity for IL-6 antigen including Reed-Sternberg cells and their variants, lacunar cells, dendritic int erdigitating cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and vascular smoot h muscle cells. In summary, greater and more frequent abnormalities in IL-6-associated laboratory parameters and increased immunohistochemic al reactivity for IL-6 antigen coincide with the presence of fever in helping to identify children with clinical stage B NSHD.