Abstract
Objective : Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), which is known to occur under immunosuppressive states, is characterized mainly by proliferation of malignant cells in body cavity fluids. In the third & fourth Edition of the Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues (WHO2008), the entity of PEL was renamed as malignant lymphoma caused by human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8). We report the cytological findings of PEL, defined according to WHO2008.
Method : We carried out cytological observation, cytological measurement, and immunostaining of 3 cases of PEL diagnosed at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine Center Hospital between 2002 and 2013.
Results : The tumor cells showed a plasmablastic morphology, with large nuclei and delicate chromatin and large and prominent nucleoli, and a basophilic cytoplasm with a clear-perinuclear halo. The average cell area was 232-306 μm2, the nuclear area was 145-187 μm2, and the nuclear/cytoplasm ratio was 0.52-0.62. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were CD38- and LANA-1-positive, and CD20-negative.
Conclusion : The tumor cells of PEL were large atypical cells with plasmablastic morphology, with a basophilic cytoplasm, high N/C ratio and large round nuclei. These findings are useful for differential diagnosis of malignant effusions.
