Isolated plasmablastic lymphoma of nasal mucosa in an immunocompetent patient achieving complete remission after multimodal treatment: About an african patient and literature review

Abstract

Plasmablastic lymphoma is an aggressive variant of lymphomas recently distinct from diffuse large B cell lymphoma. It has been initially described as a disease affecting the oral cavity of immunocompromised patients. We here report the first case of a 54-year-old patient with nasal septum nodule, bleeding on contact and after sneezing which occurred 6 months before admission. Facial computed tomography (CT) scan showed thickening of the nasal mucosa of 14mm. Excisional biopsy showed tumor proliferation composed of plasmablastic cells with immunophenotypic features: CD 138+, ki67 80%, EMA+, CD79a+, CD 56+. Staging and HIV serology were negative. Given the rarity of this lymphoma there are no standard treatments and most patients have treatment-resistant lymphoma with poor prognosis. Our patient received 6 cycles of CHOP-like chemotherapy associated with 40 gy radiotherapy in 20 fractions of 2 gy with complete remission (unusual in the cases described in the literature).