Classification of aggressive and classic mantle cell lymphomas using synchrotron Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is regarded as an incurable neoplasm, even to the novel drug strategies. It is known MCL has two morphological variants- classic and aggressive. Aggressive MCL is characterized by a higher mitotic index and proliferation rate, and poor overall survival in comparison to classic subtype. The insight into the detailed biochemical composition of MCL is crucial in the further development of diagnostic and treatment guidelines for MCL patients; therefore Synchrotron radiation Fourier Transform Infrared (S-FTIR) microspectroscopy combined with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used. The major spectral differences were observed in proteins and nucleic acids content, revealing a classification scheme of classic and aggressive MCLs. The results obtained suggest that FTIR microspectroscopy has reflected the histopathological discrimination of both MCL subtypes.