An unusual presentation of EATL type 1: Emergency surgery due to life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding.
BACKGROUND
Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) is a very rare malignancy. Reasons for hospital admission are variable.


METHODS
76 years old man admitted to emergency service with sudden and massive obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. There was no complaints in his history. After initial evaluation, emergency laparatomy had to be done. Bleeding lesion in proximal jejunum was resected. Histopathologically, the muscularis propria had abundant atypical lymphoid infiltrate in diffuse pattern. Atypical lymphoid cells expressed CD3 and CD30. The jejunal mucosa adjacent to the tumor showed effacement of normal villous architecture.


CONCLUSIONS
EATL is known to cause anemia as a result of chronic bleeding. However in this case, the bleeding was abundant, irreplaceable and requiring emergency surgery. To our knowledge it is not reported previously.


CONCLUSIONS
A sudden and massive gastrointestinal bleeding can be the first and unique sign of EATL.
Department of General Surgery, S.B. Istanbul Education and Research Hospital, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: erdemkinaci@gmail.com.
Erdem
E
Kinaci
Mehmet Emin
ME
Gunes
Gulben Erdem
GE
Huq
Celiac disease; Emergency laparatomy; Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma; Gastrointestinal bleeding