Case of relapsed AIDS-related plasmablastic lymphoma treated with autologous stem cell transplantation and highly active antiretroviral therapy

Plasmablastic lymphoma of the oral cavity with breast recurrence: a case report

Background

Plasmablastic lymphoma is an aggressive variant of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, mostly found in the oral cavity and associated with human immunodeficiency virus. There are no clear guidelines for its treatment. Therapies more intensive than cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone are not associated with a prolonged survival. Lymphomas of the breast are rare, in one series representing 0.14% of all female breast malignancies, with diffuse large B cell lymphoma comprising up to 55% of all cases. Only one case of plasmablastic lymphoma involving the breast has been reported in the literature.

Case presentation

A 30 year old Pakistani woman, presented with a small nodule in the floor of the mouth. An excisional biopsy revealed CD20, CD3, and CD117 negative and CD138, CD79a, CD56, MUM1/IFR4 and CD30 positive lesion with Ki-67 of 60% with cells which were plasmablastic in appearance. The morphological and immunohistochemistry features were consistent with plasmablastic lymphoma. The staging scans did not reveal any lymphadenopathy and the bone marrow biopsy and human immunodeficiency virus test were both negative. After treatment with four courses of CHOP and later radiation to the floor of the mouth, her disease was in complete remission. Two months later, she presented with velvety red lesions in both breasts and its trucut biopsy was consistent with plasmablastic lymphoma. Her CT scans revealed multiple nodules involving both breasts with no lymphadenopathy. The bone marrow was now positive for disease. Her disease continued to progress despite second and third line chemotherapy with DHAP (dexamethasone, cisplatin and cytarabine) and ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin and etoposide) respectively. Her last CT scans revealed progressive disease with new lung lesions. The patient decided to opt for best supportive care.

Conclusion

To our knowledge this is the second report of plasmablastic lymphoma involving the breast. The patient who was human immunodeficiency virus negative and immune competent had progressive disease despite three lines of chemotherapies with an overall survival (to date) of 15 months.

HIV and Stem Cell Transplantation

In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons, the incidence of hematologic malignancies, including leukemia and lymphoma, is increased despite the use of successful antiretroviral therapy. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) is emerging as a safe and effective therapy for HIV-infected persons with hematologic malignancies. Management of these patients is complicated by drug-drug interactions involving antiretroviral therapy (ART) that may impact conditioning agent efficacy and metabolism of immunosuppressive medications and potentiate drug toxicities. As such, optimal strategies for ART remain controversial. We discuss recent advances, controversies, and future directions related to SCT in HIV-infected persons, including the investigation of allogeneic SCT as a strategy for HIV cure.

Orbital plasmablastic lymphoma: a clinico-pathological correlation of a rare disease and review of literature

Ocular involvement by plasmablastic lymphoma is extremely rare with very few reports in the literature. Its morphological and immunological resemblance to plasma cell myeloma makes it a diagnostic challenge, while its clinical course, which is characterized by recurrence and death, makes therapy a challenge for clinicians. We present three cases of plasmablastic lymphoma, each of which has distinct clinicoradiological features, and we also review the literature on orbital plasmablastic lymphomas.