Protein Biomarker Levels in Tissue Samples From Young Patients With Low-risk Hodgkin Lymphoma

Investigation to Evaluate the Levels of Human Germinal-center-Associated Lymphoma (HGAL) Protein in Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma and Correlate With Early Response

RATIONALE: Studying samples of tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors identify and learn more about changes that occur in DNA and identify biomarkers related to cancer. It may also help doctors predict how patients will respond to treatment.

PURPOSE: This research trial is studying protein biomarker levels in tissue samples from young patients with low-risk Hodgkin lymphoma.

OBJECTIVES:

• To investigate the variability of expression of human geminal-center-associated lymphoma (HGAL) protein in pediatric low-risk Hodgkin lymphoma.
• To assess the variability of HGAL staining between risk groups by comparing samples from subjects enrolled in the low-risk study AHOD0431 with subject samples enrolled in AHOD0031 for intermediate-risk classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL).
• To assess the variability of HGAL staining by evaluating a tissue array created from subjects with intermediate-risk cHL.
• To correlate rapid or slow early-response in the intermediate-risk group with HGAL protein expression.

OUTLINE: Paraffin-embedded tissue samples and tissue microarrays are analyzed for protein expression by IHC.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosed with low-risk classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL)
• Samples available from patients enrolled in the low-risk study COG-AHOD0431 and in the intermediate-risk cHL study COG-AHOD0031

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• Not specified