Pure red cell aplasia associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and hemolytic anemia

Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) rarely occurs in non-thymic lymphoproliferative disorders. The present article describes a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (follicular, mixed type), who concurrently developed PRCA and warm type autoimmune hemolytic anemia during the clinical course. The PRCA and hemolytic anemia were successfully treated with prednisolone (60 mg/day). The patient died two years later, however, from advanced lymphoma without any recurrence of the PRCA or hemolytic anemia. To our knowledge, only 20 cases of PRCA associated with malignant lymphoma have been reported. The pathogeneses of the PRCA and hemolytic anemia in our patient are discussed.