An Autopsy Case of Angioimmunoblastic T‐cell Lymphoma with a High Content of Epithelioid Cells in the Lymph Node: Immunohistochemical and Genomic Analyses

Abstract

A 79-year-old female developed red papulonodular eruptions on her extremities, facial erythema, generalized lymphadenopathy and high fever. Histopathology of an affected lymph node showed the features of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma with a high content of epithelioid cells. She died about two years after the onset despite therapy. Genomic Southern blotting and immunostaining of the lymph nodes were performed twice. In August of 1993, Southern blotting did not show any rearrangement of the immunoglobulin or the T-cell receptor (TCR) gene. Small or medium-sized lymphoid cells were positive for CD4 or CD8 (CD4:CD8 = 2:1). However, in September of 1994 (at autopsy), rearrangements of TCK C beta 1, J beta 2 and J gamma genes were observed. Small or medium-sized lymphoid cells were positive for CD4, but negative for CD8. Several large cells were positive for Latent Membrane Protein 1 (LMP1) of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Our results proved that selective oligoclonal proliferation of tumor cells (probably CD4+) accompanied the disease progress.

Peripheral T‐Cell Lymphoma with Secondary Epithelioid Granulomatous Cutaneous Involvement: A Clinicopathologic Study of Four Cases

“…In the patient with AILD, dermal and subcutaneous clusters of epithelioid cells lacking the organization of well-formed granulomas were observed. Although these histological features have previously been described in lymph node biopsies from patients with AILD (38,39), this phenomenon has rarely been reported in skin biopsy specimens (30).…”