TNFAIP3 deletion status in classical Hodgkin lymphoma and its relation to Epstein-Barr virus

Abstract Objective: To investigate the TNFAIP3/A20 abnormalities and its association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL). Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffinembedded tissue blocks of 54 CHL patients were collected and subjected to the construction of tissue microarray (TMA) for further analyses. EBV status was evaluated by in situ hybridization (ISH) for EBER1/2 and immunohistochemistry (IHC) with anti-LMP-1 antibody. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and IHC were performed to determine the copy number alterations of TNFAIP3 and A20 protein expression respectively. Results: The concordance rate of IHC for LMP-1 and ISH for EBER1/2 was100%, and 25.9% (14/54) cases were identified with EBV infection. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated 27.8% (15/54) cases with A20 expression deficiency. Of the 54 cases tested for A20 expression, 49 cases were simultaneously analyzed by FISH, which showed 10 (20.4% ) cases harboring TNFAIP3 deletion. However, discrepancy was observed between the results of A20 by IHC and TNFAIP3 deletion by FISH. Only 1 case with TNFAIP3 deletion demonstrated complete loss of A20 immunoreactivity. In addition, comparison of the frequency of either A20 expression loss or TNFAIP3 deletion between EBV-positive and-negative cases did not reveal any significance (P>0.05). Conclusion: TNFAIP3 deletion could be observed in both EBV-positive and - negative CHL cases. A20 expression by IHC could not confirm TNFAIP3 deletion by FISH, which might be related to the technical issues.