The Tumor Microenvironment in Classic Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Responder and No-Responder Patients to First Line ABVD Therapy

Although classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) is typically curable, 15-25% of individuals eventually experience a relapse and pass away from their disease. In CHL, the cellular microenvironment is constituted by few percent of H/RS (Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg) tumor cells surrounded from a heterogeneous infiltration of inflammatory cells. The interplay of H/RS cells with other immune cells in the microenvironment may provide novel strategies for targeted immunotherapies. In this paper we analyzed the microenvironment content in CHL patients with responsive disease (RESP) and patients with relapsed/refractory disease to treatment (REL). Our results indicate the increase of CD68(+) and CD163(+) macrophages, the increase of PDL-1(+) cells and of CD34(+) microvessels in REL patients respective to RESP patients. In contrast we also found the decrease of CD3(+) and of CD8(+) lymphocytes in REL patients respective to RESP patients. Finally, in REL patients our results show the positive correlation between CD68(+) macrophages and PDL-1(+) cells as well as a negative correlation between CD163(+) and CD3(+).