Expression of the natural killer (NK) cell antigen CD56 is uncommon in malignant lymphoma, but when it is, it is almost exclusively of the non-B cell lineage and show a preference for the nasal and nasopharyngeal region. T/NK cell lymphoma is known to be aggressive and refractory to treatment. It is highly associated with the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), but clinical investigations are rarely reported, that is until recently. We report here, on the clinical features and therapeutic outcomes of patients with T/NK cell lymphomas and its association with EBV. We reviewed fifty-four cases with peripheral T cell lymphomas in the upper aerodigestive tract between Jan. 1987 and Aug. 1998 from the Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine. The diagnosis of T/NK cell lymphoma was made according to the expression of the NK cell markers, CD56 antigen and cytoplasmic CD3 epsilon, in tumor specimens, by immunohistochemistry. Epstein-Barr early region (EBER) RNA was detected using in situ hybridization on paraffin-embedded sections. Among the 54 cases with malignant lymphomas occurring in the upper aerodigestive tract, 20 had T/NK cell lymphoma (37%). The primary sites of T/NK cell lymphomas were the nasal cavity, 12 cases (60%), the tonsils, 4 cases (20%), the nasopharynx, 2 cases (10%), and the oropharynx, 2 case (10%). There were no differences between the features, at diagnosis or therapeutic modalities for patients with T/NK cell lymphoma and non-T/NK cell lymphoma. The complete remission rate of T/NK cell lymphomas was lower than non-T/NK cell lymphomas (65% vs 85%, p=0.02). The overall survival of T/NK cell lymphomas was 13 months (1-74 month), which was significantly lower than non-T/NK cell lymphomas [60.6% with a median follow up of 22 months (1-101 month, p=0.02)]. Disease free survival of T/NK cell lymphomas was 22 months (4-66 month), significantly lower than non-T/NK cell lymphomas [73.8% with a median follow up of 22 months (2-95 month), p=0.04]. The overall survival rates for T/NK cell lymphomas were significantly lower than for EBV positive non-T/NK cell lymphomas (p=0.018). EBER RNA was detected in the paraffin-embedded tissue sections of all T/NK cell lymphomas, compared to only 17.6% (6 of 34 cases) for non- T/NK cell lymphomas. In conclusion, as patients with T/NK cell lymphomas showed poor clinical outcomes, and a high association with EBV positivity, clinical trials with more investigational therapeutic strategies, and further research into the relationship of EBV infection with pathogenesis of T/NK cell lymphoma is warranted.
Adult ; Aged ; Digestive System Neoplasms/*therapy/virology ; Female ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/isolation & purification ; Human ; *Killer Cells, Natural ; Lymphoma/*therapy/virology ; Lymphoma, T-Cell/*therapy/virology ; Male ; Middle Age ; Respiratory Tract Neoplasms/*therapy/virology ; Treatment Outcome

Extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma is a relatively uncommon type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is prevalently distributed in Asia and South America, and is highly associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Due to its highly aggressive course and poor response to treatment because of its multi-drug resistance, for the timebeing there is not yet a definite treatment strategy. The clinical manifestation, pathological diagnosis and the progress of treatment methods of ENTNKCL are reviewed below.
Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; complications ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell ; diagnosis ; therapy ; virology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinicopathological features and prognosis of primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL).

METHODSThirty-five patients with PHL who underwent surgical resection and were confirmed by pathology in our hospital from 1982 to 2012 were re-evaluated for clinicopathological data, including their symptoms, radiological features, recurrence interval, histopathological properties and prognosis.

RESULTSOf the 35 patients, 25 were men (71.4%) and 10 were women (28.6%), with an average age of 52.6 years old (range, 17-79 years). Presented symptoms were epigastric phymatosis, abdominal pain and low-grade fever. In the present study, 21 (60.0%) patients were positive for HBsAg, 1(2.9%) patient was positive for anti-HCV, 3 patients were positive for AFP, 12 patients and 2 patients were complicated by cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, respectively. Pathologically, 35 PHL were classified into 19 DLBCL (54.3%), 13 T cell-lymphoma (37.1%), and 3 MALT lymphoma (8.6%). Patients with DCBCL showed better postoperative survival than patients with T cell-lymphoma (31.7 ± 3.2) months vs. (22.9 ± 2.2) months (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may contribute to the pathogenesis of Chinese patients with PHL. Surgical resection followed by comprehensive therapy is the first-line option for PHL. The prognosis of patients with PHL is associated with PHL subtypes.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD20 ; metabolism ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; therapy ; virology ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cyclophosphamide ; therapeutic use ; Doxorubicin ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B ; complications ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; metabolism ; Hepatitis C Antibodies ; metabolism ; Humans ; Leukocyte Common Antigens ; metabolism ; Liver Cirrhosis ; complications ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; virology ; Lymphoma ; pathology ; therapy ; virology ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone ; pathology ; therapy ; virology ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; pathology ; therapy ; virology ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; pathology ; therapy ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Vincristine ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult ; alpha-Fetoproteins ; metabolism

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; genetics ; surgery ; Adult ; Burkitt Lymphoma ; drug therapy ; genetics ; surgery ; virology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Genes, myc ; HIV ; isolation & purification ; HIV Infections ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; genetics ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymphoma, AIDS-Related ; drug therapy ; genetics ; surgery ; virology ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; pathology ; Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Viral ; analysis ; Sarcoma, Myeloid ; pathology ; Translocation, Genetic

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical features and treatment of severe pneumonia due to novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in children with lymphoma during chemotherapy.

METHODThe clinical manifestations, radiologic features, reasons of misdiagnosis, experiences in treatment and prognosis of 4 children with lymphoma complicated with pneumonia due to novel influenza A (H1N1) virus during chemotherapy were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTFour children out of the 54 patients with hematologic disorders who were receiving chemotherapy suffered from H1N1 influenza. Neutrophil counts were less than 0.5 × 10(9)/L in all 4 patients. The body temperature was higher than 39°C accompanied by chill and low blood pressure at the onset of the illness. Dyspnea and hypoxemia occurred quickly. Two of them developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). C-reactive protein (CRP) was higher than 50 mg/L in all these cases, and was higher than 200 mg/L in 2 cases. Chest X-ray showed that there were extensive infiltrations in several lung lobes in all the 4 patients. The first patient was misdiagnosed as sepsis at the beginning. The results of 17 blood cultures for the 4 patients were all negative. Fungi were found in 2 of 20 sputum cultures in 2 patients and these 2 patients had been considered as having fungal pneumonias. All the 4 patients were treated with oseltamivir phosphate. The oseltamivir treatment started on the 5(th) day in patient number 1, whereas on the 1(st) day in the other 3 patients. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was used in all 4 patients. Methylprednisolone was used in 3 patients. After treatment, 2 died and 2 were improved.

CONCLUSIONThe children with lymphoma who undergo chemotherapy are prone to develop severe pneumonia during epidemics of influenza A H1N1. The pneumonia may be aggravated very quickly and have a higher mortality. The patients might be easily misdiagnosed as sepsis at early stage. The pneumonia may be misdiagnosed as fungal infection. During H1N1 prevalent season when high fever occurred, H1N1 infection should be considered. Early detection of the virus and use of oseltamivir phosphate and high-dose IVIG and methylprednisolone might reduce the mortality.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; complications ; virology ; Male ; Pneumonia, Viral ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

This brief communication focuses on aspects of a recent case report (Yonsei Med J 2005;46:425-30) on a full and sustained remission of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) after a single day of chemotherapy. A septic episode required stopping chemotherapy and starting amphotericin B and acyclovir. Remission evidence was seen within days of starting these. A review of research supporting the notion that amphotericin B can reactivate latent Epstein-Barr virus and thus allow acyclovir to kill infected HL cells is given. Experimental work is required to confirm or refute this possibility. If successful, amphotericin B and acyclovir treatment could be extended to other EBV-driven cancers such as Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the occasional EBV-related epithelial cancer of the breast, colon, prostate, and others.
Virus Activation ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism ; Remission Induction ; Humans ; Hodgkin Disease/*drug therapy/pathology/*virology ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/*metabolism ; Ganciclovir/therapeutic use ; *Drug Synergism ; Burkitt Lymphoma/virology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology ; Amphotericin B/*pharmacology ; Acyclovir/*therapeutic use

CMV infection may occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract. Among the small intestine, ileum is the most common site of CMV disease and infection of jejunum is a rare one in patients with CMV gastroenteritis. Although rare, the reason why the recognition of this diagnosis is important is that it cause the lethal hemorrhage and perforation of gastrointestinal tract when its diagnosis and treatment was delayed. Rapid diagnosis are able to using the immunohistochemical stain in shell vial culture of infected specimen or peripheral neutrophils preparation in viremic patients within 8 to 36 hours. The treatment of choice is antiviral agent or surgical resection. We experienced a case of CMV disease of jejunum in patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who showed severe ulceration in jejunum and massive intestinal hemorrhage, and he survived after successful treatment with segmental resection of jejunum and intravenous ganciclovir.
Adult ; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use ; Cytomegalovirus Infections/drug therapy ; Cytomegalovirus Infections/diagnosis ; Cytomegalovirus Infections/complications* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Enteritis/virology ; Enteritis/surgery ; Enteritis/complications ; Ganciclovir/therapeutic use ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/therapy ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/etiology* ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/diagnosis ; Human ; Jejunal Diseases/virology ; Jejunal Diseases/surgery ; Jejunal Diseases/complications* ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/drug therapy ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/diagnosis ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/complications* ; Male ; Opportunistic Infections/drug therapy ; Opportunistic Infections/diagnosis ; Opportunistic Infections/complications* ; Substances: Ganciclovir ; Substances: Antiviral Agents

OBJECTIVETo study the clinicopathologic features and disease outcome of intravascular natural killer-cell lymphoma (IVNKL).

METHODSThe histologic features, immunohistochemical findings and results of in-situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNA (EBER) were analyzed in 2 novel cases of IVNKL. Seven cases of IVNKL previously reported in the literature were reviewed.

RESULTSThe patients were a 68-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man. They both presented with erythematous patches and nodules on their trunk and extremities. Skin biopsies confirmed the diagnosis of IVNKL. The tumor cells were positive for CD3, CD56, granzyme B and EBER. Both patients died 2 months after the diagnosis. Amongst the 9 reported cases, including those from the literature, the male was 4 cases, the female was 5 cases. The mean age of the patients was 45.7 years and the median age was 47 years. Skin lesions represented the commonest clinical manifestations. Multiple organ involvement was found in 7 cases and central nervous system was involved in 3 cases. Six patients died during 2 to 17 months of follow-up. The median survival was 9 months and the one-year survival rate was (35.6±18.6)%. The clinical outcome of the patients with multiple organ involvement was worse than that with skin manifestations only. The difference however was not statistically significant (P=0.083).

CONCLUSIONSIVNKL is a rare disease. Diagnosis should be made according to typical histologic findings, immunophenotype and EBER in-situ hybridization results. The overall prognosis of IVNKL is poor. Early diagnosis and treatment before multiorgan involvement may be helpful in improving the clinical outcome.

Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; CD3 Complex ; metabolism ; CD56 Antigen ; metabolism ; Cyclophosphamide ; therapeutic use ; Doxorubicin ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Granzymes ; metabolism ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; metabolism ; pathology ; virology ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; RNA, Viral ; metabolism ; Vascular Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; virology ; Vincristine ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use ; Biopsy ; Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Diagnostic Errors ; Dupuytren Contracture/diagnosis ; *Fingers/pathology/ultrasonography/virology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; *Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell/diagnosis/therapy/virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Predictive Value of Tests ; RNA, Viral/genetics ; *Tendons/chemistry/pathology/ultrasonography/virology ; Treatment Outcome ; Tumor Markers, Biological/analysis ; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color

Adult ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; virology ; Humans ; Lamivudine ; therapeutic use ; Lymphoma ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; drug therapy ; Secondary Prevention ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy