Limited Tissue Biopsies and Hematolymphoid Neoplasms.

OBJECTIVES: Use of fine-needle aspiration/needle core biopsy (FNA/CNB) in evaluating hematolymphoid processes has been debated. We investigate its applicability in various clinicopathologic settings. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 152 cases of FNA/CNB. RESULTS: Of 152 FNA/CNBs, 124 (81.6%) resulted in diagnoses without excisional biopsies, while 28 required subsequent excisional biopsies. Of these, 43 FNA/CNBs performed for suspected lymphoma relapse demonstrated 95.4% diagnostic rate (41/43), which was significantly better than those without history of lymphoma (77/109, 71%; odds ratio [OR], 8.5; confidence interval, 1.9-37.4). Patients with immunodeficiency also showed a high rate of diagnosis by FNA/CNB (100%). When stratified by types of disease, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma/high-grade B-cell lymphoma demonstrated a higher success rate (92.7%) than small B-cell lymphoma (79.2%), though the difference was not statistically significant (OR, 3.3; P value = .07). A subsequent excisional biopsy was required in 28 cases, 23 of which resulted in diagnoses concordant with the FNA/CNB. Five cases showed diagnostic discordance, reflecting pitfalls of FNA/CNB in unusual cases with complex pathology. CONCLUSIONS: FNA/CNB is practical in evaluating most hematolymphoid lesions, with high efficacy in recurrent disease and some primary neoplasms with homogeneous/ aggressive histology, or characteristic immunophenotype.

CD3-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma relapses as CD3-negative large B-cell lymphoma: Loss of aberrant antigen expression in B-cell lymphoma after chemotherapy.

Aberrant expression of CD3 on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is rare, and its mechanism and biological significance are currently unclear. Herein we report a case of Epstein-Barr virus-negative, CD3-positive DLBCL in a 53 year-old male, who had a remote history of renal transplantation. After standard chemotherapy, the patient was in clinical remission. He relapsed three years later, but at this time with apparent loss of CD3 expression. PCR-based IGK gene rearrangement studies demonstrated clonal amplicons with an identical nucleotide size between the primary and secondary DLBCL, confirming the clonal relationship despite their phenotypic differences. To our knowledge, this is the first case of CD3-positive DLBCL that demonstrated a loss of aberrant CD3 on relapse. The chronologic change in phenotype seen in this case suggests that the source of the patient's lymphoma relapse may arise from either a quiescent subclone without CD3 expression, or from an upstream neoplastic precursor cell.

Myeloid Neoplasms Following Solid Organ Transplantation: Clinicopathologic Studies of 23 Cases.

OBJECTIVES: Myeloid neoplasms (MNs) after solid organ transplant are rare, and their clinicopathologic features have not been well characterized. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 23 such cases. RESULTS: The ages ranged from 2 to 76 years, with a median of 59 years at the diagnosis. The median interval between the transplant and diagnosis was 56 months (range, 8-384 months). The transplanted organs included liver in five, kidney in six, lung in five, heart in six, and heart/lung in one case(s). The types of MN included acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 12, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in five, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in four, and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) in two cases. Cytogenetics demonstrated clonal abnormalities in 18 (78.3%) cases, including unbalanced changes in 10 (55.6%), Philadelphia chromosome in four (22.2%), and other balanced aberrations in four (22.2%) cases. Thirteen (56.5%) patients died, with an estimated median survival of 9 months. With disease stratification, AML and MDS have short median survivals (3.5 and 7 months, respectively), with an initial precipitous decline of the survival curve. CONCLUSIONS: Posttransplant MNs have a latency period between that seen in AML/MDS related to alkylators and that associated with topoisomerase II inhibitors. The cytogenetic profile suggests a mutagenic effect on leukemogenesis. The clinical outcome for AML/MDS is dismal, with death occurring at an early phase of treatment.

B-lymphoblastic leukemia in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Sequential development of biclonal B-cell neoplasms over a 23-year period in a single individual.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an indolent mature B-cell neoplasm. During a prolonged disease course, a secondary B-cell neoplasm may arise in some patients, the most common example being the clonal evolution of CLL to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which is referred to as Richter transformation. Secondary de novo mature B-cell neoplasms arising in a patient with pre-existing CLL have been described; however, B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) developing in untreated CLL is rare, and its clonal relationship to the primary neoplasm has been an interesting issue. Herein, we report an unusual case of the sequential development of CLL and B-ALL over a 23-year period in a 64-year-old male. Examination of the peripheral blood smear and bone marrow biopsy demonstrated dual neoplastic populations: small mature lymphocytes consistent with those seen in CLL and a population of blasts that were confirmed to be B-ALL by immunophenotyping. The biclonality of these two B-cell neoplasms was supported by cytogenetic studies. While an intrinsic immunodeficiency in patients with CLL may predispose them to the development of other malignancies, the pathogenesis of this unusual phenomenon remains to be further investigated.