Muhammad Tahir, Liaqat Ali.
Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in Children
J Rawal Med Coll Dec 2000;4(1-2):27-9.
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi

Introduction: Immunological characterization of lymphoblastic lymphoma has shown that 90% of the lymphoblastic lymphomas are of T-cell lineage, the remainder show B-cell precursor differentiation or non-B non-T cell differentiation. In lymphoblastic lymphoma, more than half of patients present with a short history of malaise and cough, progressing to dyspnoea due to presence of a mediastinal mass. The mediastinal mass is usually accompanied by pleural effusion. Bone marrow and CNS involvement are common. Lymphoblastic lymphoma is more common in males, having M:F ratio of 2:1. The median age for presentation varies from 7-9 yrs. Histologically, lymphoblastic lymphomas manifest convoluted, non convoluted or large cell. These cells show nuclei that are significantly smaller than reactive histiocytes and immunoblasts or large cleaved or non-cleaved follicular centre cells but are larger than small lymphocytes. The nuclei are round to oval in shape and have a small thin rim of cytoplasm . Typically, the tumour has a diffuse monotonous pattern, but may some times demonstrate selective involvement of the para-cortical (T-cell) areas of the lymph nodes. Study: A retrospective clinicomorphological study of thirty four consecutive cases of Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (LBL) in children is presented. The histological diagnosis was made on sections stained by H & E stains, and wherever necessary it was supported by stains for reticulin, PAS and MGP. The highest prevalence age group was 5-10 years, with a male: female ratio of 2.7:1. Sixty percent of cases presented with mediastinal lymph node enlargement. On histological examination, the tissue architecture was effaced in 85.3%. The neoplastic cells were medium sized with round to oval nuclei showing fine, delicate chromatin. The cytoplasm was scanty and weakly basophilic. Our findings were in agreement with previous studies.

Category: Pediatrics
Keywords: Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. Lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin`s Lymphoma.

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