Enteropathy-associated intestinal t-cell lymphoma without celiac disease

Type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) is an uncommon intestinal lymphoma. We report the case of a 73-year-old man with diarrhea and weight loss. Duodenal biopsy showed atrophy and infiltration of irregular lymphocytes. Immunohistochemistry was positive for CD3, CD8, and CD56 with monoclonal TCR rearrangement. The HLA-DQ genotype was DQ5/DQ9. The Epstein-Barr virus RNA test was negative. Before specific chemotherapy could be administered, the patient was admitted to hospital for a respiratory infection and died from a cause unrelated to his lymphoma. The differential diagnosis of CD56-positive lymphoproliferative processes include type II EATL, primary T-cell/natural killer-cell intestinal lymphoma and hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma. The patient had CD8 y CD56+ markers that allowed type I EATL to be excluded. The HLA-DQ genotype did not correspond to celiac disease and the biopsy showed proliferation of lymphocytes with atypia. The primary intestinal T-cell/natural killer-cell lymphoma was characterized mainly by the absence of CD8 and monoclonal reassortment of the TCR present in this case.