Manifestations of gastrointestinal plasmablastic lymphoma: a case series with literature review

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) rarely occurs in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract with limited studies reported. We reviewed the clinical histories and pathology of four patients with GI PBL at our institute and similar case reports published in peer-reviewed journals. In our first case, a 40 year-old human immunodeficiency virus positive male presented with a hemorrhoid-like sensation, and was diagnosed with PBL via biopsy of a rectal mass. The second case involves a 65 year-old healthy male with bloody diarrhea who was found to have PBL in a resected sigmoid mass. The third patient was a 41 year-old male with a history of Crohn's disease who presented with abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. A small intestinal mass (PBL) was removed. The fourth patient was a 65-year-old male who was found PBL after surgical resection of bowel for his florid Crohn's disease. He later developed secondary acute myeloid leukemia. Clinical outcome was very poor in 3 out of 4 patients as reported in the literature. One patient survived chemotherapy followed by autologous transplant. The prototypical clinical presentation and variations of PBL can help create a more comprehensive differential diagnosis for GI tumors and establish an appropriate therapeutic guideline.