Diagnosing Hodgkin Lymphoma From an Endobronchial Ultrasound Core Needle Biopsy

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) commonly presents as isolated mediastinal adenopathy. Although there is evidence to support minimally invasive techniques such as endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) fine-needle aspiration as the initial diagnostic test for suspected lymphoma involving the mediastinum, it consistently performs the poorest at definitively diagnosing HL for a variety of reasons, and therefore histology specimens are usually required. We present a case of HL presenting as isolated mediastinal adenopathy that was definitively diagnosed on EBUS using a 22 G coring needle in which cellular and histologic specimens were obtained, allowing the core biopsy to be fixed in formalin and treated as a surgical specimen. The patient started treatment soon after the procedure without requiring any further invasive tests. Although it seems intuitive that a coring EBUS needle would be advantageous in diseases such as HL, further studies are needed before definitive recommendations can be made.