Primary T-cell non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma of the appendix

A case of primary T-cell lymphoma of the appendix in an 84-year-old female was reported. Appendectomy was performed as a result of the clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis, due to the rebound tenderness of McBurney's point and thickness of the appendix wall as determined from ultra echo sonograph. Grossly, the surgical resected appendix did not have a dominant inflammatory appearance, therefore a tumor was suspected. Microscopic examination showed diffused proliferation of large and medium size lymphoma cells. Immunohistochemical examination further revealed that the lymphoma cells were positive for T-cell markers. To ensure this was a T-cell lymphoma, molecular examination was performed using paraffin-embedded tissue sections, since T-cell lymphoma of the appendix is extremely rare. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis demonstrated monoclonal T-cell receptor gene rearrangement. T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma was excluded. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of primary T-cell lymphoma of the appendix. PCR-SSCP analysis in paraffin-embedded tissue section was very useful in the diagnosis of lymphoma cell monoclonality.