Mediastinal B-cell lymphoma with sclerosis: clinical features and treatment results in 10 patients

Symptomatic ovarian involvement as the initial presentation of primary mediastinal large b-cell lymphoma

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PMLBCL is an uncommon thymic B-cell neoplasm accounting for about 2.5% of NHLs.

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Patients present with bulky mediastinal lymphadenopathy,causing dyspnea and dry cough.

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Extrathoracic distal extranodal sites is a rare event at disease presentation.

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This is a unique case of a young female patient with symptomatic, bulky ovarian tumor.

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PMLBCL was finally diagnosed with a clinically silent bulky mediastinal mass.

Primary mediastinal large B- cell lymphoma (PMLBCL) is a mature aggressive B-cell lymphoma which affects mainly young and middle-aged women. The majority of patients present with bulky mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Extranodal involvement is a rare phenomenon at disease presentation. Herein, we describe a case of a young female with PMLBCL presenting with symptomatic, bulky ovarian involvement. The 23-year old patient presented at the Emergency Department with abdominal pain. The chest X-ray film revealed a mediastinal mass and CT scan revealed a large pelvic mass, possibly involving the ovaries. Due to the development of signs of acute abdomen, she was urgently transferred to the operation room where surgical resection of the right ovary and the adjacent mass was performed. The histological examination of the resected material revealed proliferation of PMLBCL cells. This is the first report in the scientific literature describing symptomatic ovarian mass as the initial mode of presentation of PMLBCL.

Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma

Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) is a sub-type of the heterogeneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma category, and comprises approximately 5% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). It was first recognized as a distinct clinico-pathologic entity 20 years ago, and recent work has further characterized specific molecular features. Gene expression profiling has suggested a partial overlap with nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), with which it shares some clinical features. The optimal management remains a matter of debate. There is uncertainty as to whether weekly alternating chemotherapy regimens may be more effective than CHOP, whether consolidation radiotherapy (RT) to the mediastinum is always required, whether PET scanning can be used to determine this, and whether the use of rituximab as part of initial therapy will change the answers to these questions. The International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG) 26 clinicopathologic study of PMBCL, which has recently opened, represents a first attempt to gather data prospectively on some of these issues.

Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma: a review of pathology and management

PURPOSE

Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) is recognized as a separate disease entity in the REAL classification. There is uncertainty about the relevance and especially the optimal management of this disorder. In this review, we discuss clinical presentation, pathology, pathobiology, and management of PMBL in order to provide a platform for initiation of further clinical and biologic studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Studies were identified through a MEDLINE search and from the bibliographies of relevant articles.

RESULTS

PMBL is a tumor of young adults who present with a rapidly proliferating tumor. At diagnosis, the tumor is usually limited to intrathoracic organs. Spread to parenchymal organs such as liver, kidneys, and CNS is common at recurrence. Fibrosis and the presence of so-called clear cells are distinctive morphologic features of PMBL, although they are not pathognomonic or even necessary for diagnosis. On the other hand, biologic features relating to oncogene rearrangement and overexpression as well as cytogenetic features clearly differentiate PMBL from other types of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Phase II studies and retrospective series indicate cure rates that range from 38% to 88%. The role of chemotherapy, radiation, and high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue in the management of PMBL is reviewed.

CONCLUSION

PMBL has unique clinical and biologic characteristics that are radically different from those of other types of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Although relatively rare, its aggressive growth and its occurrence in young patients increase the clinical relevance of this entity. The consistent recognition and study of PMBL will allow the development of new approaches to its management.

CNS involvement in primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma

PURPOSE

The risk of CNS involvement by non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) has been associated with bone marrow and/or testicular involvement; however, it was recently reported that the number of extranodal sites is a more reliable predictor of CNS disease. Because primary mediastinal thymic large B-cell lymphoma (PMLCL) has a high propensity for involving extranodal sites, we investigated the frequency and pattern of CNS involvement in PMLCL.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The medical records of 219 patients with aggressive NHL, consecutively entered onto protocols at the National Cancer Institute between 1987 and 1998, were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

Twenty-three patients (11%) had clinical and pathologic features of PMLCL. These patients were young (median age, 29 years), female (61%), and presented with massive mediastinal adenopathy (70%). Extranodal disease occurred at presentation in 70% and at relapse in 93% of patients and involved contiguous intrathoracic structures and/or distant sites, including the lungs, kidneys, liver, adrenals, ovaries, pancreas, and bone. Six patients (26%) developed CNS involvement, two (9%) at presentation and four (27%) at relapse. All had extranodal disease, but only one had bone marrow involvement. Parenchymal and leptomeningeal CNS disease occurred in four and three patients, respectively.

CONCLUSION

CNS involvement in PMLCL is associated with extranodal involvement other than bone marrow and may reflect the unique biology of this disease. The propensity to involve the CNS parenchyma raises the concern that intrathecal prophylaxis may not be effective and suggests that CNS imaging should be considered in patients with extranodal disease.