Midline malignant B-cell lymphoma with leukemic transformation

This article presents a case of lethal midline granuloma on the palate of a 44-year-old woman, which had been identified histologically as B-cell lymphoma with leukemic transformation in the terminal stages. At the first visit, physical and laboratory examinations showed no remarkable findings except for a necrotizing ulcer of the palate, and the biopsy specimens only showed massive inflammatory cell infiltration and necrosis of the granulation tissue. There was a short-term resolution after treatment with cyclophosphamide and prednisolone, but the disease reactivated and the necrotic ulcerative lesion progressively advanced into the nasal cavity. Specimens from the third biopsy exhibited histologic features that were consistent with malignant lymphoma of the diffuse, mixed B-cell type. Chemotherapy with the regimen of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone was adopted but was interrupted after a short time because of bone marrow suppression. Subsequently, large numbers of enlarged abnormal lymphocytes with a few vacuoles in the cytoplasm appeared in the circulating blood, indicating leukemic transformation of the midline lymphoma. The patient died on the seventh day after the initiation of chemotherapy. In the presentation of this case, the authors mention clinically important matters regarding midline lethal lymphoma and briefly discuss the pathophysiology and pathogenesis.