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Gamma‐delta T‐cell lymphoma arising in a long‐standing cutaneous plaque
Author(s) -
Ali Liaqat,
Young Michelle R.,
Bayerl Michael G.,
Helm Klaus F.,
Clarke Loren E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1111/cup.12591
Subject(s) - medicine , pathology , lymphoma , bone marrow , immunophenotyping , cutaneous lymphoma , dermis , cd8 , cutaneous t cell lymphoma , flow cytometry , mycosis fungoides , antigen , immunology
The precise classification and characterization of primary cutaneous gamma‐delta T‐cell lymphoma ( PCGD‐TCL ) has been hindered by clinical and morphologic features that overlap with other lymphomas, especially subcutaneous panniculitis‐like T cell lymphoma ( SPTCL ). The recent World Health Organization/European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer ( WHO / EORTC ) classification distinguishes the more aggressive PCGD‐TCL from the usually indolent SPTCL , however. We report a 30‐year‐old woman with an indurated violaceous plaque on the left cheek that had been present for several years. Biopsies showed a dense lymphocytic infiltrate involving the subcutis and dermis that consisted mostly of small and medium‐sized lymphocytes, some with irregular nuclear contours and dense chromatin. These cells were positive for TIA ‐1, TCR ‐gamma and CD8 , but negative for beta‐ F1 and granzyme‐B. Staging with positron emission tomography–computed tomography ( PET / CT ), CBC and bone marrow with flow cytometry identified lymphadenopathy as well as blood and marrow involvement by an abnormal TCRgd ‐positive T‐cell proliferation (Ann Arbor Stage IV). The patient's history of a long‐standing lesion in this case is unusual, in that gamma‐delta T‐cell lymphomas are typically rapidly progressive neoplasms. As such, it raises the possibility of ‘transformation’ of a long‐standing inflammatory process into an overt lymphoma.