Abstract
A case of Burkitt lymphoma in a 52-year-old Japanese male is reported. The patient was admitted because of a right mandibular tumor in July 1979. On physical and laboratory examinations, hepatosplenomegaly, hypercalcemia and kidney dysfunction were recognized.
A mandibular tumor biopsy revealed the so-called starry sky appearance. The serum EB virus antibody and tumor cell EB virus nuclear antigen were undetectable. The tumor cells, having basophilic cytoplasm and prominent vacuoles, possessed B cell surface markers and carried a 14 q+ chromosome abnormality.
Treatment with cyclophosphamide resulted in the regression of the jaw tumor. However, the lymphoma cells began to appear in the peripheral blood with invasion into the bone marrow. The relapse was complicated by hypercalcemia and azotemia and the patient died 3.5 months after onset. Postmortem examination revealed tumor cell infiltration in the ribs, lumbar vertebrae, trachea, kidneys, liver, spleen and prostate. Calcium deposition was present in the kidneys, lungs, liver, spleen, heart and aorta.
