Sarcoidosis mimicking lymphoma on positron emission tomography-computed tomography in two patients treated for lymphoma: two case reports.
BACKGROUND
Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease that mostly involves the lungs. Its association with malignancies has been well documented. Several mechanisms have been proposed that may underlie this concurrence including triggering tumour antigens and defective cellular immunity.


METHODS
We briefly review the literature on malignancy associated sarcoidosis and report two female lymphoma patients of 49 and 56 years of age who, during their course of disease, developed sarcoidosis that was misinterpreted as a lymphoma relapse on positron emission tomography-computed tomography.


CONCLUSIONS
We hypothesise that T cell dysfunction and exposure to tumour associated antigens might be the underlying mechanisms of development of sarcoidosis in patients with lymphoma. Positron emission tomography-positive lesions do not always indicate malignancy and therefore a tissue biopsy is always mandatory to confirm the diagnosis.
Ozer
Ozden
O
Eskazan
Ahmet Emre
AE
Ar
M Cem
MC
Beköz
Hüseyin
H
Tabak
Fehmi
F
Ongen
Gül
G
Ferhanoglu
Burhan
B