Open AccessComposite lymphoma with coexistence of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma: Diagnostic pitfalls
Author(s) -
Meyyappa Devan Rajagopal,
Rakhee Kar,
Debdatta Basu,
Sunu Cyriac
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
indian journal of pathology and microbiology/indian journal of pathology and microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.217
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 0974-5130
pISSN - 0377-4929
DOI - 10.4103/ijpm.ijpm_139_16
Subject(s) - lymphoma , anaplastic large cell lymphoma , medicine , diffuse large b cell lymphoma , lymph node , pathology , bone marrow , b cell , biopsy , non hodgkin's lymphoma , large cell lymphoma , large cell , cancer research , immunology , cancer , antibody , adenocarcinoma
Composite lymphoma is a rare tumor composed of two or more distinct lymphomas in the same topographic site or tissue. Several combinations of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), T-cell NHL, and Hodgkin lymphoma can occur with different prognoses and treatments. The coexistence of a B-cell NHL and a T-cell NHL is unusual. The exact etiology of composite lymphoma is unknown; however, few mechanisms have been proposed to explain its pathogenesis. The chemotherapeutic protocols are heterogeneous but are essentially targeted against the high-grade component. Most of the cases show worse outcome with a median survival of 12 months. In this article, we report a case of composite lymphoma which was initially diagnosed as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and the presence of CD3-positive atypical cells in the bone marrow urged us to re-evaluate the lymph node biopsy following which a focus of Alk-1-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma was identified.