Intestinal T-cell lymphoma

Abstract

In our study, 7 bioptical specimens of intestinal T-cell lymphoma are described. This tumour occurs in the small intestine of adults who may have a history of malabsorption. The patients present clinically with intestinal perforation, enterorrhagia, or ileus. The gross appearance varies: the tumour may take the form of multiple ulcers or of a huge exulcerated lesion. The cytomorphological features are variable. Bizarre multinucleated cells may be sometimes present. The reactive cellular background is usually dominated by histiocytes or eosinophilic granulocytes. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells stain in reactions with antibodies to pan T-cell markers, occasionally to CD8 and CD30. The positivity of tumour cells for markers of intraepithelial T-cells and for cytotoxic molecules has been demonstrated previously.