[Hepatosplenic gammadelta T cell lymphoma and its relationship with Epstein-Barr virus infection]

To explore the clinical and pathological characteristics of hepatosplenic gammadelta T-cell lymphoma and its relationship with Epstein-Barr virus infection, the clinical features of a 9-year-old girl with hepatosplenic gammadelta T-cell lymphoma were investigated, the smears of bone marrow was stained with Wright' s stain, biopsies of bone marrow and liver specimen were embedded in plastic and sliced about 4 microm in thickness and routinely stained with HE staining, the immunohistochemical staining was used to mark the tumor cells, and EBER probes were used to detect Epstein-Barr virus RNA. The results showed that the girl presented with prolonged fever, anemia, thrombocytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection, and elevated levels of serum ferritin and lactate dehydrogenase. Bone marrow aspirate revealed the infiltration of atypical lymphocytes in the bone marrow stroma. The liver biopsy specimen revealed the infiltration of lymphocytes in the sinusoids, which was positive for the T-cell associated marker CD3 and activated cytotoxicity-associated marker granzyme B. In-situ hybridization analysis with EBER probes revealed that the above-mentioned characteristics were negative in neoplastic cells. It is concluded that hepatosplenic gammadelta T-cell lymphoma is a disease with distinctive clinical, histopathologic, and phenotypic characteristics. Hepatic and/or splenic and/or bone marrow biopsy with combined phenotype is beneficial to diagnosis. Epstein-Barr virus infection is late event involving an already transformed gammadelta T-cell clone.