ASSESSMENT OF AN ANTI-T-CELL RECEPTOR VARIABLE REGION ANTIBODY PANEL IN CUTANEOUS T-CELL LYMPHOMA

Using a panel of seven commercially available monoclonal antibodies di rected against specific sites of the T-cell receptor variable region, we have studied the staining patterns in 15 biopsies from 11 patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), and in five patients with benig n lymphocytic infiltrates. Eight of the 11 patients with CTCL showed s taining of the majority of lymphocytes with either V beta 8 alone (n = 3); V beta 12 alone (n = 2) or with both V beta 8 and V beta 12 (n= 3 ). None of the biopsies from patients with benign dermatoses showed st aining of the majority of lymphocytes with any of the antibodies.