Plasmablastic lymphoma presenting in a human immunodeficiency virus-negative patient: a case report.

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL), an aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that carries a poor prognosis, previously has been identified almost exclusively in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We present a case of a 42-year-old HIV-negative patient presenting with an isolated nasal cavity mass, the typical presentation for PBL. The patient was given systemic chemotherapy, central nervous system prophylaxis, and consolidative locoregional radiotherapy and achieved a complete clinical response. This case suggests PBL should be considered in HIV-negative patients with characteristic findings.

Age variation in Hodgkin's disease risk factors in older women: evidence from a population-based case-control study.

Hodgkin's disease (HD), which affects all age groups, has been associated with childhood social class, particularly among adults under age 40. Little is known about social class risk factors in older adults, and the few existing studies have conflicting findings. As part of a population-based case-control study of HD in women, we examined social class risk factors by diagnostic age groups (45-54 years and 55-79 years) corresponding to incidence patterns and by histologic subtypes based on a uniform pathologic review. Among women ages 45-54, cases were more likely to be Catholic, to have lower income and to be taller than controls. Among women ages 55-79, cases tended to have come from small or large childhood households, lived in single-family childhood housing, and had a single rather than shared bedroom at age 11. For the nodular sclerosis (NS) histologic subtype, similar age differences in risk factors were apparent. Comparisons between the NS and non-NS subtypes in women ages 55-79 identified some common risk factors (single-family childhood home, single bedroom at age 11) but others specific to one subtype (childhood household size, adult height for NS; lower maternal education for non-NS). Thus, some social class associations with HD differed between middle-aged and older women, as well as between these groups and younger adults, while others were shared across age groups. Risk also was associated with both higher and lower childhood social class in middle-aged and older women, in contrast with previous findings. None of these patterns was explained entirely by histologic subtype but may reflect age and histology subtype variation in the HD-EBV association.

Expert review of the diagnosis and histologic classification of Hodgkin disease in a population-based cancer registry: interobserver reliability and impact on incidence and survival rates.

BACKGROUND: The reliability of Hodgkin disease (HD) diagnosis and histologic classification is an ongoing concern but has not been evaluated in a population-based case series in 20 years. Yet, diagnostic error in cancer registry data used in surveying HD occurrence may produce statistics that misrepresent incidence, mortality, or survival. METHODS: Uniform pathology review was attempted for all 395 women ages 19--79 years with incident HD reported to a population-based cancer registry in 1988--94. Agreement between original registry and review diagnoses was measured with positive predictive values and kappa statistics. Incidence rates and survival probabilities were computed based on registry and review diagnoses. RESULTS: Registry and review diagnosis agreed for 245 of the 362 reviewed cases. Positive predictive values varied by histologic subtype (nodular sclerosis, 95%; lymphocyte predominance, 69%; mixed cellularity, 58%; lymphocyte depletion, 0%; not otherwise specified, 40%), but agreement was good overall (kappa, 0.66, 95% confidence interval, 0.56--0.76). Eleven patients were determined not to have HD; all were older than age 44 years. Hodgkin disease incidence rates differed for original and review diagnoses only in older women, for whom registry rates slightly overestimated incidence. Five-year survival rates did not differ for registry and review data overall or by age group. CONCLUSIONS: For most adult women patients, the diagnosis of HD was confirmed on review, reflecting the very good agreement between registry and review diagnoses for nodular sclerosis, the most common subtype. Thus, cancer registry statistics for this time period can provide accurate estimates of disease patterns for HD overall and for the nodular sclerosis variant. For other histologic subtypes, rates may be unreliable, and HD occurrence overall may be less dependable in populations with larger proportions of these subtypes.

Epstein-Barr virus and survival after Hodgkin disease in a population-based series of women.

BACKGROUND: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive Hodgkin disease (HD), as defined by the presence of EBV genes or gene products in the malignant cells, differs epidemiologically from EBV negative HD. However, survival patterns for EBV-defined HD have not been well studied. To determine if EBV status influenced survival time after HD, the authors investigated a large, population-based series of female patients. METHODS: For 311 female patients living in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area who were aged 19-79 years with HD diagnosed between mid-1988 and 1994, histopathologically rereviewed archived biopsy specimens were assayed for EBV with immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. The 53 subjects with EBV positive and the 258 with EBV negative HD were observed for vital status through 1998; overall survival was analyzed with Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression methods. RESULTS: Epstein-Barr virus positive HD patients were older, received diagnosis at a later stage, and were less likely to have nodular sclerosis histology than EBV negative patients. Deaths were reported for 21 (40%) EBV positive and 37 (14%) EBV negative patients. No survival differences were observed between EBV positive and negative women aged 19-44 years, but survival was significantly poorer in women aged 45-79 years with EBV positive HD. Regression analysis confirmed this strong negative effect of EBV positive status on survival (hazard ratio for death, 3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-6.2) as unrelated to age, stage at diagnosis, or tumor histology. CONCLUSIONS: This study found a marked survival disadvantage for EBV positive HD in older but not young adult women. These findings suggest influences of both EBV status and age on HD survival, as well as pathogenesis.

The digestive system manifestations of Rosai-Dorfman disease (sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy): review of 11 cases.

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD), originally described as sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy, is a rare histiocytic proliferative disorder with a distinctive microscopic appearance. Formerly thought to be a process limited to lymph nodes, involvement by RDD has now been documented in many organ systems, notably bone, skin and soft tissue, central nervous system, eye and orbit, and upper respiratory tract. The digestive system, however, is affected only exceptionally, as reflected by the existence of only a handful of individual case reports. In this article, we report 11 patients in which the disease involved intestinal tract, liver, or pancreas, and describe the most salient clinicopathologic features. The specific site of involvement within the digestive system was gastrointestinal tract in 5, liver in 5, and pancreas in 1. Most patients also had evidence of disease in other extranodal sites, as well as in 1 or more lymph node groups.

Aggressive cutaneous NK and NK-like T-cell lymphomas: clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular analyses of 12 cases.

Natural killer (NK) and NK-like T-cell lymphomas are rare hematolymphoid malignancies that predominate in the upper aerodigestive system. They also involve other extranodal sites, including the skin. Primary cutaneous manifestations of NK and NK-like T-cell lymphomas are uncommon, and the clinicopathologic features are poorly understood. We have studied 12 patients of varied ethnic backgrounds with CD56-positive lymphomas in the skin. Six patients subsequently progressed to disseminated disease. These lymphomas showed the following immunophenotype: CD56+, CD43+, TCRb-, CD3-/+, CD20-, CD30-/+, CD4-, and CD8-. Two cases exhibited T-cell receptor gene rearrangements supporting a T-cell origin for these lymphomas, whereas the remaining 10 cases were likely derived from NK cells. Our results show inconsistent association of these lymphomas with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the multidrug resistance phenotype, and expression of P53. In addition, we found a previously unreported correlation between lymphomas harboring EBV mRNA and the expression of the multidrug resistance phenotype. These lymphomas were aggressive and were associated with rapid clinical progression, treatment failure, multiple relapses, and an average survival of 15 months from the time of diagnosis. Our results indicate the importance of recognizing this disease as a distinct subset of aggressive cutaneous lymphomas that may be diagnosed on the basis of morphology, immunophenotype, and gene rearrangement studies.

Breast involvement by extranodal Rosai-Dorfman disease: report of seven cases.

Seven cases of breast involvement by extranodal Rosai-Dorfman disease are presented. The patients were women and their ages ranged from 15 to 84 years. Three patients had disease confined to the breast; one had involvement of the breast and ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes, and two had bilateral breast involvement as well as disseminated systemic disease. In all cases the clinical and radiographic presentation of the breast lesion raised the possibility of a malignant tumor. All but one of the lesions were treated by excisional biopsy. Microscopically, the lesions were relatively circumscribed, often multinodular masses, located in the breast stroma, with or without associated involvement of the subcutaneous tissue and dermis. They were composed of sheets of S-100 protein-positive large histiocytes displaying lymphocytophagocytosis, scattered in a polymorphous background of mature lymphocytes and plasma cells. The microscopic differential diagnosis includes idiopathic granulomatous mastitis, infective granulomas, Langerhans' cell histiocytosis, Erdheim-Chester disease, fibrous histiocytoma, and malignant melanoma.

Focal changes of sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman disease) associated with nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's disease.

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML/Rosai-Dorfman disease) has, on rare occasions been identified as an isolated phenomenon in lymph nodes affected by malignant lymphomas. The Registry includes four cases of SHML in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and one with multiple myeloma. SHML has more recently been recorded as a focal finding in lymph nodes involved by Hodgkin's disease of the mixed cellularity type. We report two patients presenting with lymphadenopathy caused by involvement by nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's disease with focal changes of SHML, an association not previously recorded in the literature. Responsiveness of the histiocytic cells of SHML to B-cell derived cytokines is postulated as a mechanism for this phenomenon, an hypothesis previously raised in regard to the association of focal Langerhans cell histiocytosis with Hodgkin's disease and with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Detection of immunophenotypic abnormalities in paraffin-embedded B-lineage non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

The authors analyzed the frequency of immunophenotypic abnormalities in 1,474 cases of routinely fixed, paraffin-embedded B-lineage non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. B-lineage was determined by immunoreactivity for CD20 (L26, 92%); CD45RA (4KB5, an additional 3%) or immunoglobulin (Ig) light chain restriction (remaining 5%). CD45RA was found to be especially helpful on Bouin's-fixed or decalcified tissue and Ig staining was most helpful in plasmacytoid lesions. Coexpression of the T-cell marker CD43 (Leu-22) was the most common immunophenotypic abnormality, seen in 60% of mantle cell lymphomas (MCL), 39% of CLL/small lymphocytic lymphomas, 16% of diffuse large cell lymphomas (DLCL), but only 5% of follicular lymphomas (FL). Antibodies to CD45RO (A6 and UCHL1) and CD3 (polyclonal) were useful in distinguishing infiltrating T cells from B cells coexpressing CD43. Ig light chain restriction was the next commonest immunophenotypic abnormality, which was identified in 67% of plasmacytoid diffuse small cell lymphomas, 43% of MCLs, 35% of monocytoid B-cell lymphomas and 28% of FLs. Overexpression of bcl-2 oncogenic protein was observed in 71% of FLs (n = 96), but not in a control group of reactive follicular hyperplasias (n = 34). Combining two criteria increased the sensitivity of immunodiagnosis in certain circumstances.

Lymphoid neoplasms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and dermatomyositis: frequency of Epstein-Barr virus and other features associated with immunosuppression.

We recently reported two cases of reversible Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphomas in patients undergoing methotrexate therapy for rheumatic disease. The current study was undertaken to investigate how frequently lymphoid neoplasms in patients with rheumatic disease show features of lymphoproliferations occurring in immunocompromised patients. Eighteen patients (including the two previously reported patients) with rheumatoid arthritis or dermatomyositis who developed lymphoproliferative lesions and on whom detailed clinical information was available were studied. As a group these patients developed a spectrum of lymphoproliferative lesions; however, a subset of patients developed neoplasms with features associated with immunosuppression. The neoplasms occurred in extranodal sites in 10 (56%) patients, showed a diffuse large-cell histology in nine (50%) patients, and contained EBV (EBER1) transcripts and EBV latent membrane protein in six (33%) patients. In three (17%) patients the neoplasms showed the entire constellation of features typical of immunosuppression-associated lymphoproliferations, including extranodal location, large-cell or polymorphous histology, geographic areas of necrosis, and the presence of EBV. These three patients were receiving both steroids and methotrexate at the time they developed their neoplasms. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that a subset of lymphoid neoplasms in rheumatic patients occurs in an immunocompromised setting and suggest that therapeutic immunosuppression may contribute, at least in part, to the development of these lymphoid neoplasms.

Follicular large-cell lymphoma: intermediate or low grade?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the benefit of anthracycline-based chemotherapy, identify prognostic factors, and determine the value of the International Prognostic Factors Index for patients with follicular large-cell (FLC) lymphoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study includes 96 patients with FLC lymphoma treated at Stanford University Medical Center between 1969 and 1991. Fifty-five patients received doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide-containing chemotherapy regimens, 21 patients received other chemotherapy regimens, 15 patients received radiotherapy only, and five patients received no initial therapy. Thirty-four patients had stage I or II disease and 62 patients had stage III or IV disease. RESULTS: With a median follow-up duration of 5.2 years (range, 1 to 18), the actuarial 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 75% and 54%, with actuarial 5- and 10-year freedom from progression (FFP) rates of 53% and 42%, respectively. Patients treated with chemotherapy regimens that contained both doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide had a superior actuarial 10-year FFP rate (55% v 25%, P = .06) and overall survival rate (65% v 42%, P = .04) compared with patients treated with other chemotherapy regimens. Only one patient treated with doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide relapsed after 3 years. In the multivariate analysis, discordant lymphoma and treatment with chemotherapy regimens not containing both cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin predicted for worse FFP and overall survival rates. In addition, poor performance status and increasing areas of diffuse histology predicted for a worse survival, while anemia and male sex predicted for a worse FFP. The age-specific International Index was useful in predicting outcome; however, few patients with FLC lymphoma had high-risk features. CONCLUSION: The plateau in FFP implies that patients with FLC lymphoma enjoy sustained remissions after standard anthracycline-based chemotherapy. FLC lymphoma should continue to be approached as an intermediate-grade lymphoma with curative intent.

Maude Abbott Lecture. Hematopathology: a crescendo of scholarly activity.

This lecture traces the evolution of hematopathology from the time of Thomas Hodgkin to the modern era of hybridoma antibodies, immunophenotyping, and molecular biology. It highlights the early concepts of Ludwig Aschoff and his school based on the observations of Metchnikoff, Ehrlich, and Maximow and the changes in concepts and terminology that have occurred in the ensuing 80 yr. The ongoing controversy on terminology and classifications of the malignant lymphomas from their first descriptions by Rudolf Virchow, Hans Kundrat, and Theodore Billroth is reviewed with reference to the development of the Working Formulation of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas for Clinical Usage and other classifications that are currently in vogue. Special attention is paid to the remarkable insight showed by Dorothy Reed in her morphologic descriptions of Hodgkin's disease, her thoughtful discussion on the nature of this disorder, and the conformation of her proposals inherent in the subsequent classification of Lukes and Butler. Acknowledgement is given to the remarkable discovery of Köhler and Milstein resulting in the advent of monoclonal antibodies that have revolutionized the field of hematopathology; to the many immunopathologists who have been responsible for the production of more than 1100 monoclonal antibodies comprising 78 clusters of differentiation; and to many of the leading molecular biologists who have (in the words of Berard) "helped to transform hematopathology from a difficult morphologic exercise into a functionally oriented biologic science."

Floral variant of follicular lymphoma. Immunological and molecular studies support a neoplastic process.

In recent reports of the so-called "floral variant" of follicular lymphoma, an unusual variant of follicular lymphoma mimicking progressive transformation of germinal centers, questions have been raised regarding whether this process represents a malignant lymphoma. We studied 19 examples of the floral variant of follicular lymphoma and report our light microscopic, immunohistochemical, and molecular diagnostic findings. Morphologic changes consisted of effacement of normal lymph node architecture by follicles composed of atypical lymphocytes. The follicles were surrounded by prominent mantle zones that invaginated irregularly into the follicle centers, often imparting a "floral" appearance. Sufficient material was available for immunophenotypic or genotypic studies in 15 biopsies. Twelve of 15 cases studied by immunohistochemistry demonstrated phenotypes supporting a diagnosis of lymphoma. Five demonstrated light-chain restriction; one was an immunoglobulin-negative B-cell neoplasm; and six, in which only formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue was available, demonstrated overexpression of the bcl-2 protein. Southern blot analysis revealed evidence of clonal immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene rearrangement in all five cases tested. Overall, 12 of the 15 biopsies studied with these techniques showed immunologic or genotypic support for malignant lymphoma. The results of this study demonstrate that the floral variant of follicular lymphoma does indeed represent a malignant lymphoma.

Coexistence of nodular lymphocyte predominance Hodgkin's disease and Hodgkin's disease of the usual type.

Recent literature suggests that usual Hodgkin's disease (nodular sclerosing and mixed cellularity types or UHD) and nodular lymphocyte predominance Hodgkin's disease (NLPHD) may be distinct clinical and pathologic entities. Thus, coexistence of NLPHD and UHD in the same patient is expected to be rare. We undertook a review of cases accessioned as NLPHD and UHD in the Laboratory of Surgical Pathology at Stanford University Hospital between January 1980 and May 1992 and found five patients with UHD that predated, followed, or coexisted with lesions histologically typical of NLPHD. All of the patients were male with ages ranging from 10 to 30 years at presentation (median, 22 years; mean, 22.2 years). The sites initially involved by disease were primarily peripheral lymph nodes in the region of the head and neck: cervical (three), supraclavicular (one), submandibular (one). One patient presented with mixed-cellularity Hodgkin's disease (MCHD), two with nodular sclerosis Hodgkin's disease including the cellular phase, one with NLPHD, and the remaining patient presented with a composite malignancy comprising MCHD and NLPHD. Development of the second lymphoma was associated with a somewhat more variable distribution of nodal involvement. The morphologic features in each biopsy specimen resembled either typical NLPHD or UHD, except for one case in which cells with features of both Reed-Sternberg cells and lymphocytic and histiocytes cells were identified. However, the immunophenotypic profiles obtained with a panel of monoclonal antibodies remained distinct for all cases studied. None of the cases showed reactivity with antibodies against the Epstein-Barr-virus latent membrane protein. Thus, NLPHD and UHD maintain a distinct phenotype, even when occurring in the same patient. A second conclusion is that the utility of Leu-7 (CD57) reactivity in distinguishing NLPHD applies to problematic as well as classic cases. Finally, Epstein-Barr virus is not implicated in NLPHD cases associated with UHD.

Follicular lymphomas of the gastrointestinal tract. Pathologic features in 31 cases and bcl-2 oncogenic protein expression.

The gastrointestinal tract is the most common site for extranodal lymphomas, but follicular lymphomas involving the gut are rare. To study their pathologic features and bcl-2 expression, 31 follicular lymphomas of the GI tract were reviewed and unstained paraffin sections from 24 of the cases were immunohistochemically stained using a monoclonal antibody for the peptide product of the proto-oncogene bcl-2. The most common site of lymphoma involvement was the small intestine, especially the terminal ileum. Gastric lymphomas tended to present clinically with symptomatic ulcers and small intestinal lesions presented with obstruction. Five cases involving the terminal ileum or colon had a gross appearance of multitudinous mucosal polyps and were considered to represent examples of "multiple lymphomatous polyposis." Enhanced expression of the bcl-2 oncogenic protein was detectable in lymphoma cells in 75% of cases and at lower levels in normal lymphoid cells in most cases. Small cleaved or mixed cell lymphomas were more likely to show enhanced expression than were large cell cases. Reactive germinal centers showed no bcl-2 staining. It is concluded that follicular GI lymphomas are associated with distinctive pathological features. In their tendency to express bcl-2, these neoplasms resemble their lymph node-based counterparts. Immunohistochemical staining for enhanced bcl-2 expression is of potential diagnostic utility in distinguishing between follicular lymphoma and follicular lymphoid hyperplasia in the gastrointestinal tract. The relevance of the results to lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) is discussed.

Warthin-Finkeldey polykaryocytes demonstrate a T-cell immunophenotype.

Warthin-Finkeldey polykaryocytes have been described in various benign and malignant lymphoid conditions since their initial identification in tonsils of patients in the prodromal stage of measles. However, the nature of these multinucleated giant cells is obscure. The authors studied the immunohistochemical profile of the Warthin-Finkeldey-type giant cells in three cases of lymphoid proliferations (two reactive, one neoplastic) containing many multinucleated cells using a panel of paraffin-reactive antibodies. Warthin-Finkeldey polykaryocytes demonstrated reactivity with Leu22 (CD43), anti-CD3, and OPD4, indicating that these cells are multinucleated T lymphocytes. The significance of these results with respect to the disorders in which these cells are found and their possible role in pathogenesis of disease are discussed.

Infrequent detection of Toxoplasma gondii genome in toxoplasmic lymphadenitis: a polymerase chain reaction study.

The diagnosis of toxoplasmic lymphadenitis is currently established by histologic evaluation with confirmation by serologic studies. We used a sensitive and specific polymerase chain reaction methodology for the identification of toxoplasmic genomes previously reported by others to investigate whether this technology could contribute to the diagnosis. We were able to reliably detect toxoplasmic genomes in paraffin-embedded tissues of toxoplasmic encephalitis and myocarditis, and serial dilution studies indicated a high degree of sensitivity. Nonetheless, we identified toxoplasmic genomes in frozen tissue from only one of nine cases of toxoplasmic lymphadenitis. In the one positive case, only one of three frozen samples from the lymph node biopsy was positive, indicating a focal infection within the lymph node. It is concluded that polymerase chain reaction studies, at their current level of sensitivity, are not of great use in contributing to the evaluation of cases of suspected toxoplasmic lymphadenitis, which continues to be best diagnosed by accurate histopathologic examination.