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Purpose@#Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) signaling pathways have been used for metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mCCRCC), but resistance to the drug develops in most patients. We aimed to explore the underlying mechanism of the TKI resistance with regard to programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and to investigate signaling pathway associated with the resistant mechanism. @*Materials and Methods@#To determine the mechanism of resistance, 10 mCCRCC patients from whom tumor tissues were harvested at both the pretreatment and the TKI-resistant post-treatment period were included as the discovery cohort, and their global gene expression profiles were compared. A TKI-resistant renal cancer cell line was established by long-term treatment with sunitinib. @*Results@#Among differentially expressed genes in the discovery cohort, increased PD-L1 expression in post-treatment tissues was noted in four patients. Pathway analysis showed that PD-L1 expression was positively correlated with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. The TKI-resistant renal cancer cells showed increased expression of PD-L1 and mTOR signaling proteins and demonstrated aggressive tumoral behaviour. Treatment with mTOR inhibitors down-regulated PD-L1 expression and suppressed aggressive tumoral behaviour, which was reversed with stimulation of the mTOR pathway. @*Conclusion@#These results showed that PD-L1 expression may be increased in a subset of VEGFR-TKI–resistant mCCRCC patients via the mTOR pathway.
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Purpose@#Prognostic Index for Natural Killer Lymphoma (PINK) is the most widely accepted prognostic model for patients withextranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL) treated with non-anthracycline–based therapy. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic implications of serum β-2 microglobulin (β2M) in the context of PINK and proposed a new prognostic model. @*Materials and Methods@#A total of 138 patients who were newly diagnosed with ENKTL and treated with non-anthracycline-based chemotherapy were identified. The cut-off value of high serum β2M was calculated by maximal-chi square methods (4.1 mg/L). A new prognostic model incorporating serum β2M into PINK was proposed and validated in an independent validation cohort (n=88). @*Results@#The patients’ median age was 53.5 years (range, 19 to 80 years). Patients with high serum β2M levels had significantly worse overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). In multivariate analysis, high serum β2M was an independent adverse prognostic factor for OS. A new PINK-B (Prognostic Index for Natural Killer Lymphoma-serum β-2 microglobulin) model stratifiedpatients into three groups with distinct OS and PFS in the training cohort (3-year OS, 84.1% [95% confidence interval, 75.1 to 94.2], 46.8% [36.1 to 60.8] and 17.6% [6.3 to 49.2] for the low-, intermediate, and high-risk groups, respectively; 3-year PFS, 70.6% [59.4 to 83.8], 35.9% [25.9 to 49.8], and 7.35% [1.1 to 46.7] for the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups, respectively). The PINK-B model was further validated in an independent cohort. @*Conclusion@#Serum β2M is an independent prognostic factor for ENKTL patients. The new serum β2M-based prognostic model may be useful for identifying ultra-high-risk patients, and it can easily be adopted into daily clinical practice.
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Digital pathology is revolutionizing pathology. The introduction of digital pathology made it possible to comprehensively change the pathology diagnosis workflow, apply and develop pathological artificial intelligence (AI) models, generate pathological big data, and perform telepathology. AI algorithms, including machine learning and deep learning, are used for the detection, segmentation, registration, processing, and classification of digitized pathological images. Pathological AI algorithms can be helpfully utilized for diagnostic screening, morphometric analysis of biomarkers, the discovery of new meanings of prognosis and therapeutic response in pathological images, and improvement of diagnostic efficiency. In order to develop a successful pathological AI model, it is necessary to consider the selection of a suitable type of image for a subject, utilization of big data repositories, the setting of an effective annotation strategy, image standardization, and color normalization. This review will elaborate on the advantages and perspectives of digital pathology, AI-based approaches, the applications in pathology, and considerations and challenges in the development of pathological AI models.
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Background@#Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the second most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in Western countries. However, it is relatively rare in Asia. This study examined epidemiologic characteristics of FL in South Korea, with an emphasis on recent trends of increase in cases. @*Methods@#We retrospectively examined 239 cases of newly diagnosed FL at a large tertiary institution in Korea (Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea) between 2008 and 2017. Age-adjusted incidence rates and clinicopathological variables were analyzed, and joinpoint regression analysis was used to identify the changes. @*Results@#The age-adjusted incidence of FL significantly increased during the study period (p = .034), and the ratio of (relative incidence) patients with FL to patients with NHL increased from 4.28% to 9.35% in the same period. Over the 10-year study assessment duration, the proportion of patients with stage III/IV FL (p = .035) and expression of BCL2 (p = .022) or BCL6 (p = .039) significantly increased. From 2013–2017, the proportion of patients with highrisk Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score increased (21.5% to 28.7%), whereas that of low-risk FLIPI decreased (55.4% to 38.6%), although those results were not statistically significant (p = .066). @*Conclusions@#We found an increasing incidence of FL, with a disproportionate increase in the incidence of high-stage disease and recent changes in the clinicopathologic features of the Korean patient population.
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Background@#Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the second most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in Western countries. However, it is relatively rare in Asia. This study examined epidemiologic characteristics of FL in South Korea, with an emphasis on recent trends of increase in cases. @*Methods@#We retrospectively examined 239 cases of newly diagnosed FL at a large tertiary institution in Korea (Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea) between 2008 and 2017. Age-adjusted incidence rates and clinicopathological variables were analyzed, and joinpoint regression analysis was used to identify the changes. @*Results@#The age-adjusted incidence of FL significantly increased during the study period (p = .034), and the ratio of (relative incidence) patients with FL to patients with NHL increased from 4.28% to 9.35% in the same period. Over the 10-year study assessment duration, the proportion of patients with stage III/IV FL (p = .035) and expression of BCL2 (p = .022) or BCL6 (p = .039) significantly increased. From 2013–2017, the proportion of patients with highrisk Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score increased (21.5% to 28.7%), whereas that of low-risk FLIPI decreased (55.4% to 38.6%), although those results were not statistically significant (p = .066). @*Conclusions@#We found an increasing incidence of FL, with a disproportionate increase in the incidence of high-stage disease and recent changes in the clinicopathologic features of the Korean patient population.
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Purpose@#In contrast to the Western diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), prognostic impact of age in a Korean population with DLBCL has not been fully evaluated. @*Materials and Methods@#Six hundred and eight DLBCL patients treated with rituximab-containing chemotherapeutic regimens from January 2002 to March 2012 in Asan Medical Center were enrolled. Survival models using the restricted cubic spine−transformed age variable were constructed to evaluate non-linear relationships between age and survival outcome. Finally, age was categorized according to the conventional international prognostic index (IPI), National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)-IPI, and Grupo Español de Linfomas/Trasplante Autólogo de Médula Ósea (GELTAMO)-IPI schemes and the prognostic implications were evaluated. @*Results@#The relative hazard did not change significantly during the first to fifth decades, but began to increase exponentially in patients aged over 62 years. This pattern or relationship was also retained in a multivariate model fitted to the age-adjusted IPI and relative dose intensity. Multivariate survival analysis revealed that age > 75 years, but not age > 60 years, was associated independently with poor overall and progression-free survival when the relative dose intensity and age-adjusted IPI were taken into account. @*Conclusion@#The outcome of DLBCL in Korean populations may deteriorate rapidly as age exceeds 62 years. Therefore, a consensus cutoff value for age in Korean DLBCL patients should be determined to better predict prognosis.
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Digital pathology (DP) is no longer an unfamiliar term for pathologists, but it is still difficult for many pathologists to understand the engineering and mathematics concepts involved in DP. Computer-aided pathology (CAP) aids pathologists in diagnosis. However, some consider CAP a threat to the existence of pathologists and are skeptical of its clinical utility. Implementation of DP is very burdensome for pathologists because technical factors, impact on workflow, and information technology infrastructure must be considered. In this paper, various terms related to DP and computer-aided pathologic diagnosis are defined, current applications of DP are discussed, and various issues related to implementation of DP are outlined. The development of computer-aided pathologic diagnostic tools and their limitations are also discussed.
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10% of labeled tumor cells) of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1), the protein product of TNFRSF1A gene, was correlated with sarcomatoid dedifferentiation and was an independent predictive factor of clinically unfavorable response and shorter survivals in separated TKI-treated ccRCC cohort.CONCLUSION: TNF-α signaling may play a role in TKI resistance, and TNFR1 expression may serve as a predictive biomarker for clinically unfavorable TKI responses in ccRCC.
Subject(s)
Humans , Biomarkers , Carcinoma, Renal Cell , Cohort Studies , Dataset , Drug Resistance , Gene Expression , Gene Expression Profiling , Heterografts , Immunohistochemistry , Protein-Tyrosine Kinases , Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor , Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alphaABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#Mechanism and predictive biomarkers for tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) resistance of advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have not been fully evaluated.@*METHODS@#We performed gene expression profiling on samples from an acquired TKI resistance cohort that consisted of 10 cases of TKI-treated ccRCC patients with matched tumor tissues harvested at pre-treatment and TKI-resistant post-treatment periods. In addition, a public microarray dataset from patient-derived xenograft model for TKI-treated ccRCC (GSE76068) was retrieved. Commonly altered pathways between the datasets were investigated by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis using commonly regulated differently expressed genes (DEGs). The significance of candidate DEG on intrinsic TKI resistance was assessed through immunohistochemistry in a separate cohort of 101 TKI-treated ccRCC cases.@*RESULTS@#TNFRSF1A gene expression and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α pathway were upregulated in ccRCCs with acquired TKI resistance in both microarray datasets. Also, high expression (> 10% of labeled tumor cells) of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1), the protein product of TNFRSF1A gene, was correlated with sarcomatoid dedifferentiation and was an independent predictive factor of clinically unfavorable response and shorter survivals in separated TKI-treated ccRCC cohort.@*CONCLUSION@#TNF-α signaling may play a role in TKI resistance, and TNFR1 expression may serve as a predictive biomarker for clinically unfavorable TKI responses in ccRCC.
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BACKGROUND@#Mechanism and predictive biomarkers for tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) resistance of advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have not been fully evaluated.@*METHODS@#We performed gene expression profiling on samples from an acquired TKI resistance cohort that consisted of 10 cases of TKI-treated ccRCC patients with matched tumor tissues harvested at pre-treatment and TKI-resistant post-treatment periods. In addition, a public microarray dataset from patient-derived xenograft model for TKI-treated ccRCC (GSE76068) was retrieved. Commonly altered pathways between the datasets were investigated by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis using commonly regulated differently expressed genes (DEGs). The significance of candidate DEG on intrinsic TKI resistance was assessed through immunohistochemistry in a separate cohort of 101 TKI-treated ccRCC cases.@*RESULTS@#TNFRSF1A gene expression and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α pathway were upregulated in ccRCCs with acquired TKI resistance in both microarray datasets. Also, high expression (> 10% of labeled tumor cells) of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1), the protein product of TNFRSF1A gene, was correlated with sarcomatoid dedifferentiation and was an independent predictive factor of clinically unfavorable response and shorter survivals in separated TKI-treated ccRCC cohort.@*CONCLUSION@#TNF-α signaling may play a role in TKI resistance, and TNFR1 expression may serve as a predictive biomarker for clinically unfavorable TKI responses in ccRCC.
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BACKGROUND: Single staining is commonly performed for practical pathologic diagnoses. However, this method is limited in its ability to specify cellular morphology and immunophenotype and often requires consumption of limited tissue. This study aimed to describe an optimized protocol for multiple in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). METHODS: The quality of multistaining was evaluated by carefully changing each step of ISH and IHC in an angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) case on a Ventana BenchMark XT automated immunostainer. The optimized protocols were also performed using another immunostainer and in 15 cases of five Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)–associated malignancies using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. RESULTS: The quality of various ISH-IHC staining protocols was semi-quantitatively evaluated. The best EBV-encoded RNA (EBER)-ISH/double IHC staining quality, equivalent to single staining, was obtained using the following considerations: initial EBER-ISH application, use of protease and antigen retrieval reagent (cell conditioning 1 [CC1] treatment time was minimized due to impact on tissue quality), additional baking/deparaffinization not needed, and reduced dilution ratio and increased reaction time for primary antibody compared with single immunostaining. Furthermore, shorter second CC1 treatment time yielded better results. Multiple staining was the best quality in another immunostainer and for different types of EBV-associated malignancies when it was performed in the same manner as for the Ventana BenchMark XT as determined for AITL. CONCLUSIONS: EBER-ISH and double IHC could be easily used in clinical practice with currently available automated immunostainers and adjustment of reagent treatment time, dilution ratio, and antibody reaction time.
Subject(s)
Benchmarking , Diagnosis , Herpesvirus 4, Human , Immunohistochemistry , In Situ Hybridization , Lymphoma, T-Cell , Methods , Reaction Time , RNAABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Transglutaminase type 2 (TG2) is an extracellular matrix crosslinking enzyme with a pivotal role in kidney fibrosis. We tested whether quantification of urinary TG2 may represent a noninvasive method to estimate the severity of kidney allograft fibrosis. METHODS: We prospectively collected urine specimens from 18 deceased donor kidney transplant recipients at 1-day, 7-day, 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month posttransplant. In addition, kidney allograft tissue specimens at 0-day and 6-month posttransplant were sampled to analyze the correlation of urinary TG2 and kidney allograft fibrosis. RESULTS: Thirteen recipients had increased interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) scores at the 6-month protocol biopsy (IFTA group). The mean level of urinary TG2 in the IFTA group was higher compared to that of 5 other recipients without IFTA (no IFTA group). Conversely, the mean level of urinary syndecan-4 in the IFTA group was lower than levels in patients without IFTA. In the IFTA group, double immunofluorescent staining revealed that TG2 intensity was significantly upregulated and colocalizations of TG2/heparin sulfate proteoglycan and nuclear syndecan-4 were prominent, usually around tubular structures. CONCLUSION: Urinary TG2 in early posttransplant periods is a potent biomarker for kidney allograft inflammation or fibrosis.
Subject(s)
Humans , Allografts , Atrophy , Biomarkers , Biopsy , Extracellular Matrix , Fibrosis , Inflammation , Kidney Transplantation , Kidney , Methods , Prospective Studies , Proteoglycans , Syndecan-4 , Tissue Donors , Transplant RecipientsABSTRACT
Diagnosing tumor-induced osteomalacia is often challenging because conventional imaging modalities may fail to locate the responsible tumor. This report describes the ability of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT to successfully distinguish between the responsible phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor and concurrent lymphoma lesions. A 52-year-old man with bone pain for several years was diagnosed with a vitamin D-resistant hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. Whole body ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT revealed multiple enlarged hypermetabolic lymph nodes in his bilateral cervical, axillary, mediastinal, abdominal, pelvic, and inguinal regions. Core needle biopsy of the right cervical lymph node confirmed the diagnosis of follicular lymphoma. However, lymphoma was not considered the cause of osteomalacia. ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT before chemotherapy showed a small nodule with intensely increased uptake in the right inguinal region, which was distinguished from the other enlarged lymph nodes. The nodule was surgically removed and histopathologically consistent with phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor. After surgery, the patient's serum phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase levels normalized without nutritional supplement.
Subject(s)
Humans , Middle Aged , Alkaline Phosphatase , Biopsy, Large-Core Needle , Diagnosis , Drug Therapy , Hypophosphatemia , Lymph Nodes , Lymphoma , Lymphoma, Follicular , Osteomalacia , Phosphorus , Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography , VitaminsABSTRACT
Nephrotic syndrome in the first year of life, characterized by renal dysfunction and proteinuria, is associated with a heterogeneous group of disorders. These disorders are often related to genetic mutations, but the syndrome can also be caused by a variety of other diseases. We report an infant with nephrotic syndrome associated with a neuroblastoma. A 6-month-old girl was admitted with a 10% weight loss over 10 days and nephrotic-range proteinuria. She was ill-looking, and her blood pressure was higher than normal for her age. Her cystatin-C glomerular filtration rate was decreased, and levels of plasma renin, aldosterone, and catecholamines were elevated. Renal ultrasonography and abdominal computed tomography showed a retroperitoneal prevertebral mass encasing both renal arteries and the left renal vein. The mass was partially resected laparoscopically, and the pathologic diagnosis was neuroblastoma. Findings on a simultaneous renal biopsy were unremarkable. The patient was treated with chemotherapy and several anti-hypertensive drugs, including an alpha blocker. Two months later, the mass had decreased in size and the proteinuria and hypertension were gradually improving. In an infant with abnormal renin-angiotensin system activation, severe hypertension, and nephrotic-range proteinuria, neuroblastoma can be considered in the differential diagnosis.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Infant , Aldosterone , Antihypertensive Agents , Biopsy , Blood Pressure , Catecholamines , Diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Drug Therapy , Glomerular Filtration Rate , Hypertension , Nephrotic Syndrome , Neuroblastoma , Plasma , Proteinuria , Renal Artery , Renal Veins , Renin , Renin-Angiotensin System , Ultrasonography , Weight LossABSTRACT
Diagnosing tumor-induced osteomalacia is often challenging because conventional imaging modalities may fail to locate the responsible tumor. This report describes the ability of â¶â¸Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT to successfully distinguish between the responsible phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor and concurrent lymphoma lesions. A 52-year-old man with bone pain for several years was diagnosed with a vitamin D-resistant hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. Whole body ¹â¸F-FDG PET/CT revealed multiple enlarged hypermetabolic lymph nodes in his bilateral cervical, axillary, mediastinal, abdominal, pelvic, and inguinal regions. Core needle biopsy of the right cervical lymph node confirmed the diagnosis of follicular lymphoma. However, lymphoma was not considered the cause of osteomalacia. â¶â¸Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT before chemotherapy showed a small nodule with intensely increased uptake in the right inguinal region, which was distinguished from the other enlarged lymph nodes. The nodule was surgically removed and histopathologically consistent with phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor. After surgery, the patient's serum phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase levels normalized without nutritional supplement.
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BACKGROUND: Ductal adenocarcinoma (DAC) of the prostate is an uncommon histologic subtype whose prognostic factors and immunoprofile have not been fully defined. METHODS: To define its prognostic factors and immunoprofile, the clinicopathological features, including biochemical recurrence (BCR), of 61 cases of DAC were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue microarray constructs to assess the expression of prostate cancer-related and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling-related proteins. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 19.3 months, BCR occurred in 26 cases (42.6%). DAC demonstrated a wide expression range of prostate cancer-related proteins, including nine cases (14.8%) that were totally negative for pan-cytokeratin (PanCK) immunostaining. The mTOR signaling-related proteins also showed diverse expression. On univariate analysis, BCR was associated with high preoperative serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), large tumor volume, predominant ductal component, high Gleason score (GS), comedo-necrosis, high tumor stage (pT), lymphovascular invasion, and positive surgical margin. High expressions of phospho-mTOR (p-mTOR) as well as low expressions of PSA, phospho-S6 ribosomal protein (pS6) and PanCK were associated with BCR. On multivariable analysis, GS, pT, and immunohistochemical expressions of PanCK and p-mTOR remained independent prognostic factors for BCR. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest GS, pT, and immunohistochemical expressions of PanCK and p-mTOR as independent prognostic factors for BCR in DAC. Since DAC showed diverse expression of prostate cancer–related proteins, this should be recognized in interpreting the immunoprofile of DAC. The diverse expression of mTOR-related proteins implicates their potential utility as predictive markers for mTOR targeted therapy.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma , Carcinoma, Ductal , Follow-Up Studies , Immunohistochemistry , Neoplasm Grading , Prognosis , Prostate , Prostate-Specific Antigen , Prostatic Neoplasms , Recurrence , Ribosomal Proteins , Sirolimus , Tumor BurdenABSTRACT
We evaluated the clinicopathological features and prognosis of 29 cases of prostate ductal carcinoma was considered to be an aggressive subtype of prostate acinar carcinoma. We selected 29 cases who were diagnosed prostate ductal carcinoma and had a radical prostatectomy (RP). The acinar group (n = 116) was selected among 3,980 patients who underwent a prostatectomy. The acinar group was matched to the ductal group for prostate specific antigen (PSA), clinical stage, Gleason score, and age. The mean (range) of the follow-up periods for the ductal and acinar group was 23.8 +/- 20.6 and 58 +/- 10.5 months, respectively. The mean age of the prostate ductal and acinar carcinoma patients was 67.3 and 67.0 yr and the mean PSA level was 14.7 and 16.2 ng/mL, respectively. No statistical differences were evident between groups in terms of the final pathologic stage or positive resection margin rate other than the postoperative Gleason score. A greater proportion of the ductal group demonstrated a postoperative Gleason score > or = 8 in comparison with the acinar group (P = 0.024). Additionally, we observed significant prognostic difference in our patient series in biochemical recurrence. The ductal group showed a poorer prognosis than the acinar group (P = 0.016). There were no differences significantly in terms of final pathology and rate of positive resection margin, but a greater proportion of the ductal group demonstrated a Gleason score > or = 8 than the acinar group after matching for PSA, Gleason score in biopsy and clinical stage. The ductal group also showed a poorer prognosis.
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Carcinoma, Acinar Cell/pathology , Carcinoma, Ductal/pathology , Neoplasm Grading , Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology , SEER ProgramABSTRACT
The patient was a 52-year-old female with swelling in both lower legs and peripheral blood eosinophilia. Biopsy specimen revealed the heavy infiltration of eosinophils with sparse small lymphocytes showing mild atypia. The diagnosis was Kimura disease. The symptoms including eosinophilia were relieved by steroid treatment. At 17 months from initial biopsy, the patient developed swelling of the buttock. At 25 months, fever and dyspnea with multiple lung nodules developed. Wedge resection revealed multiple aggregates of CD3(+), CD56(+), Epstein-Barr virus(+) large atypical lymphocytes with necrosis. The patient was finally diagnosed with extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (NKTL). Epstein-Barr virus in situ hybridization retrospectively performed on the previous biopsies demonstrated Epstein-Barr virus infection in small CD3(+) lymphocytes. The patient expired after 26 months despite chemotherapy. Blood eosinophilia correlated well with disease activity during the clinical course. This case shows not only unusual histologic features, which hampered the correct diagnosis, but also a unique clinical manifestation of NKTL.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia , Biopsy , Buttocks , Dyspnea , Eosinophilia , Eosinophils , Epstein-Barr Virus Infections , Fever , Herpesvirus 4, Human , In Situ Hybridization , Leg , Lung , Lymphocytes , Lymphoma , Morphinans , Muscle, Skeletal , Necrosis , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
The patient was a 52-year-old female with swelling in both lower legs and peripheral blood eosinophilia. Biopsy specimen revealed the heavy infiltration of eosinophils with sparse small lymphocytes showing mild atypia. The diagnosis was Kimura disease. The symptoms including eosinophilia were relieved by steroid treatment. At 17 months from initial biopsy, the patient developed swelling of the buttock. At 25 months, fever and dyspnea with multiple lung nodules developed. Wedge resection revealed multiple aggregates of CD3(+), CD56(+), Epstein-Barr virus(+) large atypical lymphocytes with necrosis. The patient was finally diagnosed with extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (NKTL). Epstein-Barr virus in situ hybridization retrospectively performed on the previous biopsies demonstrated Epstein-Barr virus infection in small CD3(+) lymphocytes. The patient expired after 26 months despite chemotherapy. Blood eosinophilia correlated well with disease activity during the clinical course. This case shows not only unusual histologic features, which hampered the correct diagnosis, but also a unique clinical manifestation of NKTL.