Extranodal nasal-type natural killer T-cell lymphoma in an adolescent from Bangladesh

Natural killer (NK)-cell neoplasms are relatively uncommon tumors. Classification schemes prior to that of the World Health Organization (2001) did not account clearly for these neoplasms. Advances in immunohematology over the past 10 years have aided in the recognition and categorization of NK-cell tumors. One type of tumor that belongs to this class is extranodal, nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma. These lymphoma cells express a cytotoxic T-cell or NK-cell phenotype, including CD56 and TIA-1. Nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphomas arise from extranasal sites such as the skin and are often associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection. Asian adults are affected most commonly. Very few pediatric cases are reported in the literature, of which only 5 presented with cutaneous involvement. We report a case of an adolescent Bangladeshi boy with extranodal, nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma who had cutaneous nodules on the extremities.