Three Cases of Primary Effusion Lymphoma / 대한혈액학회지

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a recently described rare type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which develops in serous body cavity without clinically identifiable tumor masses. Human herpesvirus (HHV)-8 was recognized to play a pathogenic role in the development of PEL in immunocompromised patients such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients or elderly. However, several cases of HHV-8 negative PEL have been reported. Here we describe a case of HHV-8 positive PEL with both of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis and two cases of HHV-8 negative PEL with liver cirrhosis and fatty liver each. Considering the reported and current HHV-8 negative PEL cases, we need to expand the concept of PEL.