title: Childhood B cell lymphomas arising in the mediastinum.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report the clinical features and pathology of four childhood cases of primary mediastinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of non-lymphoblastic pathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Biopsy material was fixed in formol-saline and routinely processed and stained. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on paraffin wax embedded sections using the alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The four patients presented with a large mediastinal mass and symptoms consistent with superior vena cava syndrome secondary to lymphoma. None of the patients had any clinically important disease outside the mediastinum. The four tumours had a histological appearance similar to diffuse large cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with sclerosis. Immunohistochemical staining showed that these tumours were of B cell origin. One patient died from infection during treatment and two patients died with progressive disease. The remaining patient remained well 43 months off all treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These four cases further illustrate the heterogeneity of paediatric large cell lymphomas. Clinically, they seem to be equivalent to the B cell lymphoma of the mediastinum, sclerosing type, that is seen in young (predominantly female) adults. The clinical and biological features of this type of tumour in childhood are largely unknown. Using standard treatment protocols, this tumour seems to have a poor prognosis and its optimal treatment therefore requires further clarification.
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Oncology Clinic of the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lockwood
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Morris-Jones
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: DaCosta
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kelsey
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012598:Sclerosis; D013479:Superior Vena Cava Syndrome / Q000209:etiology; D013908:Thoracotomy
chemical_list: D003561:Cytarabine; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D008727:Methotrexate