A Case of Malignant T-Cell Lymphoma of Gastric Origin Accompanied by Pyothorax

Abstract

The patient was a 74-year-old man suffering from tuberculotic chronic pyothorax. He had hematemesis in January 2006. Hb was 6.1 g/dl. A type 2 tumor 3 cm in diameter was found in the vaulted region on the greater curvature side. It was diagnosed as a malignant lymphoma. WBC and differential count were normal, and the patient tested negative for HTVL-1 antibody. sIL2-R was elevated to 1,500 U/ml. The superficial lymph nodes were not palpable. CT examination was not remarkable for the liver and spleen. There was no generalized lymph node enlargement. Based on these findings, a diagnosis of malignant lymphoma of gastric origin was made. As the patient had respiratory disorders, too, wedge-shaped gastrectomy was performed to inhibit invasion. Pathological examination revealed CD3 positive large atypical lymphocytes diffusely, EBV positive, HP negative. As a result, a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin T-cell lymphoma was made. The tumor did not return for 1 year and 8 months after surgery, but the patient died of sudden aggravation of respiratory disorders in September 2007. Pathological anatomy was performed. The gastric remnant was left with lymphoma, and the bone marrow and systemic lymph nodes were negative for a malignant lymphoma. The possibility of stomach metastasis from the preoperative pyothorax-related malignant lymphoma was considered, but was ruled out because the lungs were devoid of a malignant lymphoma. We report a case of an extremely rare malignant T-cell lymphoma of gastric origin.

Keywords

• Pyothorax
• Malignant T-cell lymphoma
• Primary gastric