Splenic inflammatory pseudotumor-like follicular dendritic cell tumor

Abstract

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the spleen with expression of follicular dendritic cell markers is an extremely rare lesion with only a few cases reported previously. The present study reports on an inflammatory pseudotumor of the spleen 10 × 8 × 7 cm in size that was incidentally found in a 61-year-old man and increased gradually in size during a period of 3 months. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a well-circumscribed splenic mass, and abdominal computed tomography confirmed the presence of a well-circumscribed isodense lesion in the splenic hilum with inhomogenous enhancement in the early-phase images and no enhancement on delayed-phase contrast-enhanced images. Magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen showed a well-defined isodense tumor on T1-weighted images with mildly increased signal intensity on T2-weighted images, and this is only the second study that provides MRI findings of this entity. The patient underwent an uncomplicated open splenectomy for definitive histologic diagnosis. Under microscopic examination, the lesion was an admixture of lymphocytes, plasma cells and spindle cells. In situ hybridization analysis for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) revealed that most of the spindle cells were positive for EBV, and immunochemistry showed the expression of the follicular dendritic cell markers CD21, CD35 and CD23 within the tumor. The diagnosis of inflammatory pseudotumor-like follicular dendritic cell tumor was established.