title: Plasmablastic lymphoma of the elderly: a clinicopathological comparison with age-related Epstein-Barr virus-associated B cell lymphoproliferative disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is an aggressive lymphoma with a terminally differentiated B cell phenotype; half of patients with this disease have Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. The majority of PBL cases are associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, while the remaining HIV-negative cases were accompanied by other immunodeficiency conditions or immunosenescence in the elderly.
  
  
  RESULTS
  To characterize HIV-negative PBL of the elderly (PBL-E), we compared the clinicopathological characteristics of 10 cases of PBL-E and 124 cases with age-related EBV-associated B cell lymphoproliferative disorder (AR-EBVLPD). The 10 PBL-E (eight men, two women; median age: 68 years) were associated with a more indolent clinical behaviour and a better overall survival than AR-EBVLPD. Extranodal involvement was higher in PBL-E (50%) than AR-EBVLPD; notably, the nasal cavity was affected most frequently in PBL-E (60%). Immunoglobulin heavy chain/(IGH)/MYC translocation was detected in half of the PBL-E cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PBL-E shares some clinical features with AR-EBVLPD, such as HIV negativity, old age, and EBV infection, no known immunosuppressive condition but there are some differences such as a higher ratio of extranodal involvement and better prognosis. PBL-E is a newly recognized condition and should be distinguished from HIV-positive PBL, sharing features with AR-EBVLPD in particular, immunosenescence of the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Clinical Laboratories, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tatematsu
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oyama
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Kazuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Natsumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taniwaki
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000235:genetics; D014178:Translocation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; C489427:MYC protein, human; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc