Splenic marginal zone lymphoma

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is an indolent B cell malignancy usually involving spleen, bone marrow and blood. The disease presents as an incidental finding or with symptoms of splenic enlargement or anaemia. Diagnosis is based on a combination of lymphocyte morphology, immunophenotype and marrow and /or splenic histology. There is no genetic abnormality specific for SMZL, but deletions of chromosome 7q are the commonest abnormality and are found in 30-50% of cases. SMZL cells may have either mutated or unmutated immunoglobulin variable region genes and probably arise from different subsets of splenic marginal zone B cells. Prognostic factors are poorly defined and only loss or mutation of the p53 gene is consistently associated with a poor outcome. Therapeutic options include splenectomy, splenic irradiation, alkylating agents, purine analogues or anti CD20 antibody. The median survival is 10-13 years and most disease-related deaths are associated with transformation to diffuse large cell lymphoma.     

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a specific low-grade small B-cell lymphoma that is incorporated in the World Health Organization classification. Characteristic features are splenomegaly, moderate lymphocytosis with villous morphology, intrasinusoidal pattern of involvement of various organs, especially bone marrow, and relative indolent course. Tumor progression with increase of blastic forms and aggressive behavior are observed in a minority of patients. Molecular and cytogenetic studies have shown heterogeneous results probably because of the lack of standardized diagnostic criteria. To date, no definitive therapy has been established. Therapeutic options include treatment abstention, splenectomy, splenic irradiation, and chemotherapy.     

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia treated with splenectomy and rituximab

A 51-year-old woman, who presented with dyspnea on effort and was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia in July 2004, was suspected of having splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) because of clonality of B cell on bone marrow and splenomegaly. She underwent splenectomy, and histopathological examination of the resected specimen confirmed the diagnosis of SMZL. The patient was treated with rituximab, and complete remission was achieved. Up to the present, three years after diagnosis, the patient has shown no evidence of progression.     

Splenic marginal zone B-cell lymphoma with bilateral renal invasion after splenectomy

A 61-year-old woman presented with hepatosplenomegaly, systemic lymphadenopathy, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Peripheral blood and bone marrow examination showed atypical lymphoid cells with villi. Immunophenotyping of these cells was CD19+CD20+CD5-CD10-CD23-, and light chain restriction (kappa) was positive. To confirm the diagnosis histologically, we performed a splenectomy and diagnosed the patient's disease as splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL). She rapidly recovered normal hematological parameters and gallium-67 citrate scan showed no increased uptake. Two months after the splenectomy, however, she was readmitted with findings of 15% blasts in the peripheral blood and massive infiltration of the bone marrow by large blastoid cells. Laboratory evaluations were positive for monoclonal IgM-kappa protein. Under acute renal dysfunction, we performed a CT scan that showed bilateral enlargement of the kidneys with features suggestive of an infiltrative process besides systemic lymph node enlargement. A kidney biopsy established the diagnosis of lymphoma with renal infiltration. SMZL is characterized by an indolent clinical course, and no previous report has described SMZL with bilateral renal invasion. Complete remission was obtained after 3 cycles of chemothreapy (R-CHOP). She is undergoing 3 more courses and remains in remission 6 months after the rapid progress of her illness.     

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma with VH1-02 gene rearrangement expresses poly- and self-reactive antibodies with similar reactivity

One-third of all splenic marginal zone lymphomas (SMZL) use the IgH VH1-02 gene. These cases are usually not associated with hepatitis C virus infection. Of interest, the rearranged VH1-02 genes display similar complementarity determining regions 3, a finding confirmed by our study. The latter suggests that these SMZL may produce antibodies with similar reactivity. We produced recombinant antibodies from 5 SMZL cases with VH1-02 gene rearrangement to study the binding reactivity of these antibodies. Surprisingly, the recombinant antibodies demonstrated poly- and self-reactivity as demonstrated by their reactivity with nuclear, cytoplasmic, as well as membranous antigens expressed by human cells and by reactivity with human serum. This polyreactivity was specific as demonstrated by ELISA. The antibodies did not react with proteins on the cell surface that are induced by apoptosis as shown for antibodies produced by chronic lymphatic leukemia with VH1-02 gene rearrangement. The results indicate that a common subset of SMZL arises from polyreactive B cells, a subset of marginal zone B cells that are important in the immunologic defense against infection.     

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma: a prognostic model for clinical use

The Integruppo Italiano Linfomi (IIL) carried out a study to assess the outcomes of splenic marginal zone lymphoma and to identify prognostic factors in 309 patients. The 5-year cause-specific survival (CSS) rate was 76%. In univariate analysis, the parameters predictive of shorter CSS were hemoglobin levels below 12 g/dL (P < .001), albumin levels below 3.5 g/dL (P = .001), International Prognostic Index (IPI) scores of 2 to 3 (P < .001), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels above normal (P < .001), age older than 60 years (P = .01), platelet counts below 100,000/microL (P = .04), HbsAg-positivity (P = .01), and no splenectomy at diagnosis (P = .006). Values that maintained a negative influence on CSS in multivariate analysis were hemoglobin level less than 12 g/dL, LDH level greater than normal, and albumin level less than 3.5 g/dL. Using these 3 variables, we grouped patients into 3 prognostic categories: low-risk group (41%) with no adverse factors, intermediate-risk group (34%) with one adverse factor, and high-risk group (25%) with 2 or 3 adverse factors. The 5-year CSS rate was 88% for the low-risk group, 73% for the intermediate-risk group, and 50% for the high-risk group. The cause-specific mortality rate (x 1000 person-years) was 20 for the low-risk group, 47 for the intermediate-risk group, and 174 for the high-risk group. This latter group accounted for 54% of all lymphoma-related deaths. In conclusion, with the use of readily available factors, this prognostic index may be an effective tool for evaluating the need for treatment and the intensity of therapy in an individual patient.     

以全血细胞减少为首发表现的脾边缘区淋巴瘤1例报告

脾边缘区淋巴瘤(splenic marginal zone lymphoma,SMZL)是指原发于脾脏的B淋巴细胞性非霍奇金淋巴瘤。SMZL的发病率低,国内以全血细胞减少为首发表现的SMZL报道较少。为提高临床医务人员对SMZL的认识,现将本院诊治的1例报道如下。1病例资料患者女性,76岁,以“腹胀、纳差1年,全血细胞减少3 d”为主诉于2016年6月23日于本院就诊。1年前曾于本院就诊,患者无明显诱因出现腹胀,伴有纳差,无腹痛、腹泻,无畏寒发热,无瘀斑瘀点,无咳嗽咳痰等不适,建议患者进一步检查明确原因,患者予以拒绝。     

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma: excellent outcomes in 64 patients treated in the rituximab era

Objectives and methods: Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma. We sought to identify prognostic factors and define outcomes in a cohort of 64 patients with SMZL who were treated at two large academic medical centers in North America in the rituximab era.

Results: Over a median follow-up of 37.8 (range 6–167.1) months, Kaplan–Meier estimate of median OS was 156.3 months and median PFS was 52.9 months. On univariate analysis, baseline hemoglobin <12?g/dl was associated with inferior OS (p?=?0.045). High-risk FLIPI score was associated with inferior PFS when compared with intermediate/low risk (p?=?0.05) and marginally significant with regard to OS (p?=?0.056). Splenectomy was not predictive of OS or PFS (p?=?0.563 and 0.937, respectively). Transformation to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma occurred in four (6.3%) patients during the observation period. OS was comparable to contemporaneous cohorts of patients with extranodal and nodal marginal lymphomas and FLIPI score was highly predictive for inferior PFS and OS when all three cohorts were analyzed together.

Conclusion: Outcomes of SMZL, in our series, were excellent, with a median OS of >13 years. Low hemoglobin and high-risk FLIPI were associated with inferior outcomes.     

Myocardial microangiopathy associated with antiphospholipid antibodies

Myocardial thrombotic microangiopathy is a well described post-mortem finding in patients with the catastrophic antiphospholipid (APL) syndrome. However, it has been only very rarely imaged in living patients. Here, we report two patients with APL antibodies presenting with scintigraphic, electrocardiographic and/or echocardiographic evidence of (sub)acute myocardial ischaemia, despite a normal coronary angiography. Formal proof of a thrombotic microangiopathy was obtained by a kidney biopsy in one patient. We emphasize the value of 99mTc-MIBI (2-methoxy isobutyl isonitrile) exercise stress myocardial scintigraphy for the detection of cardiac microangiopathy associated with the APL syndrome.