Reed-Sternberg cell

Reed-Sternberg cells (also known as lacunar histiocytes for certain types) are different giant cells found with light microscopy in biopsies from individuals with Hodgkin's lymphoma (aka Hodgkin's disease; a type of lymphoma) primarily due to EBV, and certain other disorders. They are usually derived from B lymphocytes.

They are named after Dorothy Reed Mendenhall (1874-1964) and Carl Sternberg (1872-1935), who provided the first definitive microscopic descriptions of Hodgkin's disease.

Reed-Sternberg cells are large and are either multinucleated or have a bilobed nucleus (thus resembling an "owl's eye" appearance) with prominent eosinophilic inclusion-like nucleoli. Reed-Sternberg cells are CD30 and CD15 positive, usually negative for CD20 and CD45. The presence of these cells is necessary in the diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma - absence of Reed-Sternberg cells has very high negative predictive value. They can also be found in reactive lymphadenopathy (such as infectious mononucleosis, carbamazepine associated lymphadenopathy) and very rarely non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

A special type of Reed-Sternberg cells are lacunar histiocytes, whose cytoplasm retracts when fixed in formalin, so the nuclei give the appearance of cells that lie with empty spaces (called lacunae) between them. These are characteristic of the nodular sclerosis subtype of Hodgkin's lymphoma.