Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma is a highly aggressive tumor with a poor outcome.
About 210 cases were identified through PubMed, of which fewer than 20 originated in Asia. We reviewed 17 Chinese cases of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma, including an unusual one with cutaneous pink papules, for clinicopathologic, immunophenotypic, and genotypic features; Epstein-Barr virus status; treatment; and outcome.
The median age of the patients was 23 years.
All patients had splenomegaly, and 88.2% of them had hepatomegaly as well.
Bone marrow involvement was present in 53.3%. Eleven patients underwent splenectomy for diagnosis and treatment.
Twelve specimens were collected by image-guided liver core biopsy or wedge resection. Histologically, the homogeneous small- to medium-size neoplastic lymphoid cells infiltrated the sinuses or sinusoids of the spleen, bone marrow, and liver.
Diagnosis was based on image-guided core-needle biopsy of the liver alone in 41.2% of the cases. Immunohistochemically, 15 of the lesions were hepatosplenic γδ T-cell lymphoma, and the remaining 2 were hepatosplenic αβ T-cell lymphoma. Epstein-Barr virus was detected in both cases of hepatosplenic αβ T-cell lymphoma and one case of hepatosplenic γδ T-cell lymphoma.
Most of the patients received cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone therapy or regimens similar to it. Follow-up data were available in 70.6% of the patients; half of them died of the tumor, and the median survival time was 6 months.
The frequency of bone marrow involvement was lower than that reported in the literature. Image-guided core-needle biopsy of the liver is recommended for diagnosis.
2011-11-14
Eng.
Department of Pathology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Hum Pathol. 2011 Dec;42(12):1965-78
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