Hodgkin's Disease — Time for a Change

Abstract

Reed–Sternberg cells and their variants have long held fascination for students of Hodgkin's disease. What are these cells, and how do they relate to the clinical manifestations of the lymphoma? Recent work indicates that they are clones of neoplastic B cells that, by secreting potent cytokines, not only cause the symptoms of Hodgkin's disease but also promote their own growth and evade immune surveillance.¹ The morphologically distinctive and multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells — classic Reed–Sternberg cells — may derive from T cells in some cases, but the weight of the evidence suggests that they usually originate from B lymphocytes in germinal . . .