Profiles of Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes in Cutaneous Lymphoid Hyperplasia of the Face

Cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia (CLH) is difficult to differentiate from primary malignant cutaneous lymphomas that may present as solitary nodules, and sometimes it requires much time to achieve a final diagnosis. A recent report [Park et al.: Acta Haematol 2011;126:79–86] suggested that the expression of granulysin correlates with the prognosis of cancer patients, even in hematological disorders. In this report, we immunohistochemically examine the expression of cytotoxic molecules (e.g. granulysin, TIA-1 and perforin) in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of 10 patients with CLH and 3 patients with cutaneous diffuse large B cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (CDLBCL-NOS) of the face. In the patients with CLH, the number of granulysin-bearing cells was higher than in the patients with CDLBCL-NOS. In contrast, there was no difference in the number of TIA-1(+) or perforin(+) cells. The present study attempts to explain the different biological behaviors of these two hematological disorders and suggests granulysin as a possible diagnostic tool for CLH and CDLBCL-NOS of the face.