Hodgkin's disease is: - a tumour replacing normal lymphoid tissue - characterized by presence of Reed-Sternberg cells (of B-cell origin) - initially localized to a single lymph node region - spreads within the lymphatic system by the lymphatics - later may spread by the blood stream. R-S cells recruit a population of "infiltrating lymphocytes" which are anergic to antigenic stimulation and play a role in the immunosuppression associated with hodgkin's disease. These cells are "highly enriched for regulatory T cells, which induce a profoundly immunosuppressive environment and so provide an explanation for the ineffective immune clearance of Hodgkin-Reed Sternberg cells."
Author(s): Peter R. Galbraith MD FRCPC
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