T-cell lymphoma revealed by a peripheral neuropathy. A report of two cases with an immunohistologic study on lymph node and nerve biopsies.
In two patients a peripheral neuropathy was the presenting symptom of a noncutaneous peripheral T-cell lymphoma. In the first patient, the neuropathy had a relapsing and remitting course, the symptoms improved under corticosteroid therapy. The second patient suffered from a relentless neuropathy. In both cases the lymphoma infiltrated the peroneal nerve with an angiocentric and perivascular pattern resembling that observed in central nervous system lymphomas. The characterization of T-cell subsets in the lymph node showed cells with the helper/inducer and suppressor/cytotoxic phenotype in the first case and a predominance of cells with the helper/inducer phenotype in the second case. In the nerve, lymphocytes beard the helper/inducer phenotype antigen. A typical paraneoplastic vasculitis of nerve showed clearly different immunologic features.
D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D010543:Peroneal Nerve / Q000473:pathology*