Emperipolesis in a Case of Adult T Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (Mediastinal type)-Detected at FNAC and Imprint Cytology

Abstract

Emperipolesis is a condition in which viable hematopoetic cells are seen intact in the cytoplasm of host cell without damage. This phenomenon is seen in many physiologic and pathologic conditions, its presence in Rosai Dorfman disease (RDD) is characteristic of the disease. However emperipolesis is an uncommon finding in malignant lymphoma both Hodgkins and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, wherein it has been described in bone marrow aspirate and tissue culture. In contrast there are only two case reports of emperipolesis phenomenon described in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in tissue sections. We report a case of an adult T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (mediastinal type) with features of emperipolesis demonstrated at fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and imprint cytology of cervical lymph nodes. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of emperipolesis in a case of adult T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (mediastinal type)-detected at FNAC and imprint cytology.

Keywords

• Emperipolesis
• Lymphoblastic lymphoma
• Imprint cytology
• Rosai Dorfman disease
• Fine needle aspiration cytologyy