Lymphomatoid granulomatosis--a condition with affinities to Wegener's granulomatosis and lymphoma

Primary lung neoplasms presenting as multiple synchronous lung nodules

Multiple synchronous lung nodules are frequently encountered on computed tomography (CT) scanning of the chest and are most commonly either non-neoplastic or metastases from a known primary malignancy. The finding may initiate a search for primary malignancy elsewhere in the body. An exception to this rule, however, is a class of rare primary lung neoplasms that originate from epithelial (pneumocytes and neuroendocrine), mesenchymal (vascular and meningothelial) and lymphoid tissues of the lung. While these rare neoplasms also present as multiple synchronous unilateral or bilateral lung nodules on chest CT, they are often overlooked in favour of more common causes of multiple lung nodules. The correct diagnosis may be suggested by a multidisciplinary team and established on biopsy, performed either as part of routine diagnostic work-up or staging for malignancy. In this review, we discuss clinical presentations, imaging features, pathology findings and subsequent management of these rare primary neoplasms of the lung.

Lymphoma and peripheral neuropathy: a clinical review

Lymphoma occasionally affects the peripheral nervous system. When it does, the diagnosis can be elusive since many patients present without known lymphoma. Most peripheral nerve complications are due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), which infiltrates nerves causing axonal damage. This disorder can affect nerve roots and cranial nerves, often associated with lymphomatous meningitis. NHL may also infiltrate peripheral nerves and cause plexopathy, mononeuropathy, or generalized neuropathy. These neuropathies may resemble an asymmetric mononeuropathy multiplex or a generalized disorder such as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. When NHL infiltrates diffusely, the term neurolymphomatosis is used. Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), by contrast, rarely infiltrates nerves. More often, HL causes immunological disorders of the peripheral nervous system such as inflammatory plexopathy or Guillain-Barré syndrome. Other rare lymphomas such as intravascular lymphoma and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia can also affect peripheral nerves in specific ways. In addition, other malignant and nonmalignant lymphoproliferative disorders enter into the differential diagnosis of lymphomatous neuropathy. This review discusses the multiple peripheral nerve presentations of lymphoma from the clinician's point of view and provides a guide to the evaluation and diagnosis of these uncommon, challenging disorders.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis

The clinical and pathologic appearance of seven patients with lymphomatoid granulomatosis who had skin lesions when first seen is reviewed. Six patients subsequently developed systemic disease. Although the gross morphology of the skin lesions is variable, the pathology is distinctive. An adequate deep biopsy shows the characteristic lymphohistiocytic infiltrate with variable numbers of atypical cells. Angiodestruction is less evident in the skin compared to other organs. The infiltrate surrounds and invades not only vessels but also nerves and epidermal appendages. The skin biopsy specimen can be differentiated from the lymphomatous infiltrates and Wegener's granulomatosis. Two of the patients who developed systemic disease were diagnosed by skin biopsy but clinicians failed to institute therapy, preferring to wait for other organ involvement. In addition, two patients developed lymphoma, one of which was confirmed at autopsy and one on subcutaneous and bone marrow biopsy 5 years after the initial skin diagnosis. Lymphomatoid granulomatosis can be diagnosed by performing a skin biopsy. Appropriate chemotherapy may result in a high percentage of complete remissions and therefore the dermatopathologist can play an important role in the early diagnosis of this potentially fatal disease.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis. Light microscopic, electron microscopic and immunohistochemical study

A case of lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) involving the lungs, skin, stomach, and possibly the left kidney in a 60-year-old man is presented. The infiltrates in the lungs, stomach, and skin showed a polymorphic appearance, and consisted predominantly of lymphocytes of mature and blastic form and of a few neutrophils, plasma cells, and histiocytes. Most lymphoid cells showed irregularly shaped nuclei and clustered dense bodies, characteristics indicative of T lymphocytes. An immunohistochemical study confirmed the T cell origin of the lymphocytes; i.e. they were positive for Leu-1, Leu-3a and Ia-like antigens but negative for Leu-2a antigen and the antibodies against light chains. The homogeneity of the major population of infiltrates in LYG indicates that at least some forms of LYG may be neoplastic or pre-neoplastic lymphocytic disorders which may ultimately progress to malignant lymphoma.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis with impaired cellular immunity. Eight year survival without treatment

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG), a non-neoplastic lymphoreticular disorder, was diagnosed in a 65-year-old woman. Chest radiographs demonstrated bilateral lower lobe nodular infiltrates. Percutaneous needle biopsy of the lung showed an infiltrate composed of plasma cells, lymphocytes and large histiocytic-like cells. Impairment of cellular immunity was found by in vivo as well as by in vitro tests. The clinical condition of the patient has remained stable for the last eight years without specific treatment.

Gastrointestinal involvement in lymphomatoid granulomatosis. Report of a case review of the literature

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis is a lymphoproliferative process affecting multiple organ systems usually including the lungs. Significant gastrointestinal involvement, however, has rarely been reported. Pathologic examination reveals a vasocentric polymorphous lymphoid infiltrate. A case of lymphomatoid granulomatosis with gastrointestinal manifestations necessitating aggressive surgical intervention is reported. The clinical presentation, pathologic features, and various aspects of therapy of lymphomatoid granulomatosis involving the gastrointestinal tract are discussed.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (Liebow)

An autopsy case with pulmonary lesions analogous to Liebow's lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) and some other unusual pictures were reported. A 29-year-old male who had been diagnosed and treated as Sjögren's syndrome for eleven years because of intermittent swelling of the parotids with diffuse lymphoid cell infiltration and positive serum RA-test, showed several circumscribed densities on the chest X-ray examination which were deemed to be of interlobar pleurisy. On autopsy, the nodular lesions in the lung were composed of angiocentric-angiodestructive lymphoid cell proliferation analogous to LYG. In addition, the present case was characterized by focal glomerulonephritis and splenic trabeculitis which are quite unusual associations in LYG. The relationships of the present case to other similar diseases such as Wegener's granulomatosis, Sjögren's syndrome, primary lymphoma of the lung, etc. were discussed.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis: an analysis of clinical and immunologic characteristics

Six patients with lymphomatoid granulomatosis were studied. Two patients had eye involvement, a rare manifestation of this disease. Both had complete disappearance of disease in this area after radiation therapy. One patient presented with an autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which remitted completely with chemotherapy. The use of corticosteroids or chemotherapy was effective in bringing about a decrease in pulmonary infiltrates in all six patients, although the duration of response was limited. One patient did have a prolonged period of clinical remission, and died of an unrelated cause. Evidence of profound immunologic abnormalities was found in these patients by a variety of tests. The extensive immunologic dysfunction present in patients with lymphomatoid granulomatosis has not previously been described. Most strikingly, patients with lymphomatoid granulomatosis have a severe impairment in T-lymphocyte function, confirmed by their inability to react to common skin test antigens or dinitrochlorobenzene, decreased in vitro lymphocyte responsiveness to mitogens and antigens and changes in T-cell subset populations. This may account for the frequent development of malignant lymphomas in patients with this condition.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis: report of a case

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Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis. Prospective clinical and therapeutic experience over 10 years

Fifteen patients with lymphomatoid granulomatosis were studied prospectively over a 10-year period. Thirteen of the patients received the therapeutic protocol of cyclophosphamide (2 mg per kilogram of body weight per day) and prednisone (1 mg per kilogram on alternate days). Previous reports had indicated that mortality from lymphomatoid granulomatosis was as high as 90 per cent. Of the 13 patients who received the cyclophosphamide and prednisone protocol, seven had complete remissions lasting for 5.2 +/- 0.6 years (mean +/- S.E.M.) Six of the seven with disease in remission have received no therapy for 28.3 +/- 5.7 months. Malignant lymphomas developed in seven of the eight who died, and only two of the eight had therapy for an adequate period. Since virtually all patients who did not have complete remission went on to have malignant lymphoma, early recognition and prompt treatment during the lymphomatoid-granulomatosis phase of disease may not only lead to complete remissions but also percent the development of a lymphoid neoplasm.

Neurological complications of connective tissue and other "collagen-vascular" diseases

A variety of neurological complications may occur in the various connective tissue and "collagen-vascular" diseases. Most of these complications are due to vasculitis affecting various sites in the central or peripheral nervous system. While the evidence for definitive vasculitis in SLE is not strong, small vessel damage usually is present in anatomic sites which correlate well with clinical features. Although patients with rheumatoid arthritis also may have vasculitis, neurological complications are usually related to nerve compression by rheumatoid nodules or the arthritic process itself. Considerable controversy exists regarding the accuracy of various diagnostic tests. While corticosteroids are the mainstay of therapy for these conditions, there are no definitive studies proving their efficacy.

Polymorphic reticulosis (lethal midline granuloma) and lymphomatoid granulomatosis: identical or distinct entities?

Two cases of polymorphic reticulosis were studied. Both cases had a fatal clinical course, that of the second case being rapid and progressive and ending 6 months after the onset of the disease with little demonstrable effect of steroid therapy. Biopsy material was obtained in both patients, and both were submitted to a post-mortem examination. The first case showed typical angiocentric, angiodestructive, polymorphous lymphoreticular infiltrates, involving the pharyngeal region and the tongue. The second case demonstrated these same lesions in the midfacial region, the lungs and the skin. A possible identify between polymorphic reticulosis and lymphomatoid granulomatosis is discussed (because of the coexistence of identical lesions in the midfacial region and in the lung parenchyma in the second case). Wegener's granulomatosis in limited and disseminated forms and malignant lymphoma are considered in the differential diagnosis.

Malignant pulmonary lymphoproliferative angiitis. A monoclonal neoplasm

A 55-year-old female developed a rapidly fatal, infiltrative, bilateral pulmonary disease. Open lung biopsy and subsequent autopsy revealed diffuse involvement by a malignant lymphoproliferative condition showing a striking angiocentric and angioinvasive pattern. This feature, together with microscopic involvement of hilar lymph nodes, bone marrow, spleen, and other viscera suggested lymphomatous transformation of lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG). The paucity of necrosis and of the typical polymorphic infiltrate was at variance with the classical description of that condition; however, the bilaterality of the process and the distinctive angioinvasive growth pattern were unlike the typical primary pulmonary lymphoma. Plasmacytoid cells were observed both by light and electron microscopy. Immunohistochemicl evaluation characterized this disease as a monoclonal lymphoproliferative malignancy.

The radiology of lymphomatoid granulomatosis in the lung

This paper describes the salient clinical and radiological features of two patients with lymphomatoid granulomatosis of the lungs. We have, in addition, reviewed the previously documented 22 cases in which radiographs were published along with their case histories. The commonest radiographic appearance, that of bilateral multiple pulmonary nodules, should not be mistaken for multiple metastases.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis in a renal transplant recipient

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis is a multi-system disorder of high mortality and characterised by angiocentric and angiodestructive lymphoreticular proliferative and granulomatous change. A case is described of this disease occurring in a renal transplant patient. The patient underwent a rapid remission of the disease after a course of combined cytotoxic therapy and remains free of disease three years after treatment. This case is the second described renal transplant patient to develop the disease and the first to be successfully treated. It is likely that the disease originated as a consequence of immunosuppression similar to the development of lymphomas in allograft recipients.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis: a clinicopathologic study of 152 cases

A retrospective study of 152 cases of lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) was undertaken to expand current knowledge about clinical manifestations and therapy, and to identify prognostic indicators in this disease. The major clinical and radiographic features and extra-pulmonary sites of involvement noted in previous studies were essentially confirmed in our study. Adverse prognostic factors included neurologic manifestations, and large numbers of atypical lymphoreticular cells within the pulmonary infiltrate. Unilateral chest lesions and large numbers of small lymphocytes and histiocytes within the infiltrate were associated with a better prognosis. Malignant lymphoma involving lymph nodes developed in 12% of patients. Almost two-thirds of patients have died and the median survival was only 14 months. No particular mode of therapy was found to be satisfactory for LYG, although there was some suggestion that corticosteroids may be useful. Randomized prospective studies are necessary for definitive recommendations regarding therapy.

Primary lymphoproliferative conditions of lung

The clinical, laboratory, and pathological features of six primary lymphoproliferative conditions of the lung are described. These comprise two patients with malignant lymphomas, one with pseudolymphoma, one with lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP), one with lymphomatoid granulomatosis, and one with plasma cell granuloma. We recommend that the term 'premalignant lymphoma' be used for pseudolymphoma since the condition, although tending to remain localised, has a malignant potential. A combination of dyspnoea, cough, and pyrexia were the presenting features in our cases of premalignant and malignant lymphoma although they may often be discovered accidentally by chest radiography. The patient with LIP presented with the usual symptoms of dyspnoea and cough. The initial manifestations of the patient with lymphomatoid granulomatosis were skin radh and peripheral neuropathy nine months before the pulmonary symptoms, a not unusual occurrence. Plasma cell granuloma is often asymptomatic but our patient presented with cough, chest pain, haemoptysis. Premalignant lymphoma tends to pursue a benign course although exceptionally it may become disseminated. Malignant lymphoma may remain localised for many years but a significant proportion metastasise. Lymphomatoid granulomatosis and LIP have a varied course but both may terminate in malignant lymphoma. Plasma cell granuloma is always benign. The interrelationships of these conditions and their differential diagnosis are discussed.