Intestinal T cell Lymphoma Flashcards
(37 cards)
What are the major
intestinal T cell lymphomas?
- EATL
- MEITL
- Intestinal T cell lymphomas, NOS
- Indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder of the GI tract
What is a key genetic difference
between EATL and MEITL?
- MEITL cases show a high proportion of gains in chromosome 8q24.2, which involves the MYC gene
- this is not seen in EATL
What is the prognosis of both EATL and MEITL ?
- both lymphomas are clinically aggressivce
- occur in adults
- negative for EBV
What is a key difference in the intestinal T-cell
lymphoma, NOS ?
- generally lacks epitheliotropism
- still is clinically aggressive and has a cytotoxic immunophenotype
What is the definition of EATL ?
- aggressive, neoplasm of intraepithelial T cells
- associated with Celiac disease
- exhibits various degrees of pleomorphism
- adjacent mucosa
- villous atrophy
- crypt hyperplasia
- increased intraepithelial lymphocytes
What is the epidemiology of EATL?
- most common subtype of primary intestinal T cell lymphoma
- accounts for ~2/3 of all cases
- occurs in patients with celiac disease
- may be diagnosed before or alongside EATL
- slight male predominance
- 6-7th decade
What is the localization of EATL ?
- small intestine is involved in >90% of cases (jejunum and ileum are most common) - multi focal lesions are seen in up to 50% of cases - can occur in other GI sites including colon and stomach - rarely can have extra-GI involvement including the skin, CNS, and LN
What are the clinical presentations of EATL ?
- most frequently presents with abdominal pain and gluten insensitivity (adult onset and only rarely in kids) - may have other symptoms of weakness, anorexia, intestinal perforation, hemorrhage, B symptoms can occur in up to 1/3 of patients - symptom duration is variable but usually is < 3 months - in a proportion of patients there is a prodrome of refractory celiac disease - HLH can occur in up to 40% of patients
What are frequent sites of disease dissemination ?
- most common are the intra-abdominal lymph nodes - followed by bone marrow, mediastinal LN/lungs, liver, and skin
What are the key microscopic findings of EATL ?
- cytomorphology can be quite variable - most lymphomas are: medium to large in size, vesicular chromatin, prominent nucleoli, round, and abundant pale-staining cytoplasm - but 40% of cases show large or anaplastic morphology - IMP: angiocentricity and angioinvasion are frequently seen - tumor cells can be difficult to see due to a moderate to striking infiltrate of histiocytes and eos - adjacent background mucosa has features of celiac disease, occasionally the jejunum may appear normal
What is the immunophenotype of EATL ?
- Most common: CD3+, CD7+, CD103+, cytotoxic molecules + while negative for CD5, CD4, CD8 - IMP: up to 30% can be positive for CD8 with a higher frequency in patients with refractory celiac disease - CD30 is often seen when there is large cell morphology
What is the postulated normal counterpart to the lymphoma cells of EATL ?
- small intestinal, intraepithelial lymphocytes, which sometimes share a similar immunophenotype to EATL * expressing CD8, alpha-beta heterodimer
What are the precursor lesions to EATL ?
- precursor: refractory sprue with symptoms of disease and abnormal small intestine morphology for >6-12 months (2 types exist based on immunophenotype and molecular) * Type I * Type II
What are the features of Type I refractory celiac disease?
- small intestinal lymphocytes have a normal immunophenotype: sCD3 and CD8+ and TCR - polyclonal products are detected on TR rearrangement - small intestine histology is that seen in uncomplicated celiac disease - this type accounts for 70-80% of celiac disease - no genetic or molecular alterations have been identified - mild symptoms - high 5 year survival rate with low risk of developing EATL
What are the features of type 2 Celiac Disease ?
- immunophenotype of the lymphocytes is similar to EATL with maybe a subset of CD8+ lymphocytes - IMP: expression of CD30 is considered an indication of transformation to EATL - severe villous atrophy - TR gene rearrangements can show clones (usually alpha beta lineage) - deregulated expression of IL-15 disrupts homeostasis of the intestinal immune system and increases the survival of the intraepithelial lymphocytes - recurrent gains of chromosome 1q22-44 are detected in type 2 celiac disease, which is similar to EATL - aberrant nuclear p53 expression can be detected in 50% of cases in the absence of molecular lesions of TP53 - most patients have severe symptoms and malnutrition (protein losing enteropathy) - low 5 year survival with up to 50% developing EATL (chemo and BMT cannot eradicate the atypical lymphocytes)
What is the genetic profile of EATL?
- TRB or TRG genes are cleanly re-arranged in virtually all cases - gains of the 9q34 region or deletions of 16q12.1 (different from PTCL, NOS) *this is also seen in a large proportion of MEITLs - different from MEITL, EATL frequently has gains of 1q and 5q - 56% of cases have LOH at 9p21 which causes a loss of p16 expression
What are the genetic predispositions to development of EATL ?
- celiac or gluten sensitive enteropathy - associated with HLA loci: * HLA-DQA1 * HLA-DQB1
What is the prognosis and predictive factors of EATL?
- poor prognosis due to multifocal intestinal involvement - median survival is 7 months - better outcomes have been reported in patients receiving chemotherapy and BMT - prognostic factors are not well-established, but malnourishment plays a role in the poor outcomes
What is the definition of MEITL ?
- primary intestinal lymphoma derived from intraepithelial lymphocytes - no clear association with celiac disease - cells are medium in size with a rim of pale cytoplasm, no clear necrosis should be seen - florid infiltration of the intestinal epithelium is present - IMP: inflammatory background is absent
What is the epidemiology of MEITL ?
- accounts for the majority of primary intestinal T cell lymphomas in Asia and is common in Hispanic individuals - males are affected more than females
What is the localization of MEITL ?
- small intestine is the most frequent site (jejunum > ileum) - tumor mass with/without ulceration can be seen as well as diffuse mucosal infiltration - involvement of the mesenteric LN is common and dissemination to other sites of the GI tract can be seen including the large intestine and stomach
What are the clinical features of MEITL ?
- symptoms are in accordance with the tumor: pain, obstruction, perforation, diarrhea - dissemination can and does frequently occur
What are the microscopic features of MEITL ?
- lymphocytes are medium in size with moderate amounts of pale cytoplasm - round nuclei, fine chromatin and inconspicuous nucleoli - generally uniform in appearance - tumor cells show prominent epitheliotropism - villous architecture is distorted with expanded villi - IMP: an inflammatory background as well as necrosis are notably absent
What is the immunophenotype of MEITL ?
- very distinct IHC: CD3, CD8 and CD56 positive with lack of CD5 (gamma delta T cell immunophenotype) - TIA-1 is consistently expressed while other cytotoxic markers are inconsistent - CD20 can be positive in up to 20% of cases - MATK (marker helps differentiate from EATL if positive in >80% of cells)