Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Negative and Human Herpes Virus-8 (HHV-8)-Positive Primary Effusion Lymphoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

UNLABELLED: Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that presents with serosal effusion in body cavities, without obvious tumor masses. Although PEL occurs in immunocompromised patients that are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive, it also occurs in immunocompetent human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8)-positive patients. Herein we present an immunocompetent, HIV-negative, CD-20-negative, HHV-8-positive patient with pleural effusion that was diagnosed as PEL. The CHOP protocol and talc pleurodesis were administered. HHV-8 plays a causative role in PEL and is important for differentiating PEL from other types of lymphoma. As such, in addition to pleurodesis antiviral treatment should be considered for optimal treatment outcome. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None declared.

A rare extramedullary involvement in myeloma: lung parenchyma and association with unfavorable chromosomal abnormalities.

Although pulmonary complications developing secondary to lung infections and involvement in ribs occur frequently in multiple myeloma (MM), involvement of the lung parenchyma is quite rare. In clinical studies, the involvement of lung parenchyma has been found to be associated with unfavorable prognosis. Here, a MM case in whom involvement of lung parenchyma was accompanied by unfavorable prognostic cytogenetic markers is presented. A 62-year-old male presented with complaint of cough, and heterogeneous hypodense mass was detected in thorax computerized tomography. The patient underwent bronchoscopic biopsy. Pathological examination revealed diffuse plasma cell infiltration staining with kappa immunohistochemically. In bone marrow biopsy, plasma cell infiltration was observed. In conventional cytogenetic examination, hypodiploidy was established. In cytogenetic examination carried out with fluorescence in situ hybridization, deletion (13q) was determined. In conclusion, in patients diagnosed with MM and presenting with pulmonary mass lesion, lung involvement associated with plasma cell infiltration should also be considered in the differential diagnosis. As overall survival is low in these cases, more aggressive treatment approaches such as high-dose treatment should be immediately considered.

Evaluation of risk factors for thrombophilia in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis.

OBJECTIVE: The increased risk for thrombosis is known as hypercoagulability or thrombophilia. In our study, we aimed to compare the frequency of the identified defects for thrombophilia in patients with central venous thrombosis and under the age of 50 years, with the findings in the current literature. METHODS: Forty-three patients (16-50 years old) were retrospectively evaluated. Thrombophilia investigation included determinations of protein C, protein S, antithrombin, and activated protein C resistance, factor V Leiden (FVL), prothrombin 20210A (PT 20210) and methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T mutations, antiphospholipid antibodies (APA), factor VIII levels, and homocysteine levels. RESULTS: We detected a single thrombophilic defect in 67.4%, two defects in 27.9% and three defects in 4.7% of our patients. The most common thrombophilic defect was mutation in the MTHFR gene (41.8%), and this was followed by the FVL mutation (34.9%). CONCLUSION: Since the prevalence of individual thrombophilic defects varies in each population, ethnic group and geographical location, screening for thrombophilic defects in patients presenting with cerebral venous thrombosis should primarily investigate the most frequent thrombophilia risk factors.

Role of flow cytometry in multiple myeloma and the prognostic significance of CD87 (uPAR) expression.

OBJECTIVE: The plasminogen activator system consists of the serine protease urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), two endogenous inhibitors of PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) as well as the PAI-2 and uPA receptor (uPAR or CD87). The aim of this study was to determine the significance of flow cytometry and CD87, CD45 and CD56 expressions in the diagnosis, follow-up and prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM). METHODS: Twenty-nine MM patients were included in the study. Bone marrow samples were used for flow cytometry. A panel of CD87, CD45, CD56, CD10, CD19, CD20, CD38, and CD138 was tested by flow cytometry. RESULTS: CD87 was negative in 8 (27.5%) cases, dim positive in 9 (31.1%) and bright positive in 12 (41.4%). CD87 expression was significantly higher in CD45 (-) cases. CONCLUSION: Flow cytometry has a significant role in the diagnosis and prognosis of MM. Further clinical studies including large numbers of patients are needed to determine the prognostic role of CD87 in MM.