Background:
Lymphoblastic lymphomas (LL) of the mediastinum are rare tumours that
present a challenging diagnosis. The positive diagnosis is based on microscopic findings. Our aim
was to highlight the diagnostic difficulties in such situations.
Methods:
We conducted a descriptive retrospective study including 31 patients presenting
mediastinal LL.
Results:
Radiologic features consisted in all cases in a mediastinal infiltrating mass. Microscopic
examination showed in all cases a crowded tumour with many artefacts made of diffuse tumour cells.
Immunohistochemial study was performed in all cases. It was quite difficult to interprete in the
samples used for extemporaneous examination and repeated in 10 cases.
Conclusion:
The diagnosis of LL is based on the microscopic examination which is usually
performed on small samples with crowding artefacts. Thus, this pathology must be managed by a
trained team that is used to deal with such a specimen in order to avoid repeating the biopsy and
inducing diagnostic delay.