2021 Volume 63 Issue 5 Pages 1119-1124
A 74-year-old male was referred to our hospital due to positive results on a fecal occult blood test. The initial colonoscopic examination revealed a protuberant lesion in the rectum, suggesting rectal mucosal prolapse syndrome. During the follow-up period, the endoscopic findings changed to an ulcerative lesion in a short period of time, suggesting malignant lymphoma. Repeated colonoscopies and biopsies were necessary to make the definitive diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related peripheral T-cell lymphoma, non-specific type, from our finding of EBER (EBV-encoded RNA)-positive cells. Finally, the patient was diagnosed with peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS). Despite systemic chemotherapy, he died in a short period of time, about 10 months after the first visit. EBV-positive PTCL-NOS is extremely rare and has a poor prognosis. This is a valuable case in which we were able to observe how the endoscopic findings changed rapidly over a short period of time.
