Intravascular Large B-Cell Lymphoma: A Difficult Diagnostic Challenge

Case Presentation. A 69-year-old Hispanic male, with a past history of diabetes and coronary disease, was admitted for fever, diarrhea, and confusion of 4 weeks duration. Physical examination showed a disoriented patient with multiple ecchymoses, possible ascites, and bilateral scrotal swelling. Hemoglobin was 6.7, prothrombin time (PT) 21.4 seconds with international normalized ratio 2.1, partial thromboplastin time (PTT) 55.6 seconds, fibrin split 10 µg/L, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) 1231 IU/L. Except for a positive DNA test for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, extensive diagnostic workup for infections, malignancy, or a neurological cause was negative. Mixing studies revealed a nonspecific inhibitor of PT and PTT but Factor VIII levels were normal. The patient was empirically treated with antibiotics but developed hypotension and died on day 27 of admission. At autopsy, patient was found to have intravascular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma involving skin, testes, lung, and muscles. The malignant cells were positive for CD20, CD791, Mum-1, and Pax-5 and negative for CD3, CD5, CD10, CD30, and Bcl-6. The malignant cells were 100% positive for Ki-67. Discussion. Intravascular large cell B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is rare form of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and tends to proliferate within small blood vessels, particularly capillaries and postcapillary venules. The cause of its affinity for vascular bed remains unknown. In many reports, IVLBCL was associated with HIV, HHV8, and EBV infections. The fact that our case showed evidence of EBV infection lends support to the association of this diagnosis to viral illness. The available literature on this subject is scant, and in many cases, the diagnosis was made only at autopsy. The typical presentation of this disorder is with B symptoms, progressive neurologic deficits, and skin findings. Bone marrow, spleen, and liver are involved in a minority of patients. Nearly all patients have elevated LDH, and about 65% are anemic. About 20% have hepatic and renal dysfunction. The treatment consists of systemic chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone plus rituximab (CHOP-R) and central nervous system prophylaxis. Retrospective data suggests that, with treatment, 51% to 82% of the patients achieve a complete remission and 27% to 56% are alive at 2-year follow-up. Conclusion. IVLBCL is a difficult diagnosis to make as the disease remains confined to the vascular lumen. It may be associated with certain viral illnesses, and this association needs to be explored further. It is important to consider this diagnosis in the appropriate settings because patients may achieve durable remissions with therapy.