title: Blastic natural killer (NK)-cell lymphoma: report of an unusual CD4 negative case and review of the CD4 negative neoplasms with blastic features in the literature.
abstract: Blastic Natural Killer (NK)-cell lymphoma is a relatively new entity which has been recently included in the WHO classification. CD4 expression is observed in most cases of blastic NK-cell lymphomas and has been related with skin tropism. We report an unusual CD4 negative blastic NK-cell lymphoma with primary presentation in the skin, subsequent infiltration of the bone marrow and aggressive behavior. It is emphasized that extensive immunophenotyping and EBER RNA in situ hybridization are required in order to establish the diagnosis of blastic NK-cell lymphoma. We also present a review of the literature with respect to the CD4 negative NK-cell lymphomas with blastic morphological features.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Argyrakos
authors.forename: Dimitra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rontogianni
authors.forename: Themis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karmiris
authors.forename: Violeta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kapsimali
authors.forename: Erini
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grigoriou
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsantekidou
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Naum
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Galani
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pantelidaki
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Harhalakis
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nikiforakis
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kanavaros
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001752:Blast Crisis; D019046:Bone Marrow Neoplasms; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000473:pathology*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms; D014740:Vidarabine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; C099537:Epstein-Barr virus encoded RNA 1; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014740:Vidarabine; C024352:fludarabine