Angio-immunoblastic lymphadenopathy terminating as Hodgkin's disease

The clinical course of a 33-year-old man with generalized lymphadenopathy bearing all physical, laboratory and histologic characteristics of "angio-immunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia" (AILD) is described. Therapy was without significant benefit and the patient died 22 months after initial diagnosis. At autopsy in addition to the characteristic cellular polymorphism of AILD, numerous Hodgkin's cells and Sternberg-Reed cells were identified in the lymph nodes and spleen. Pleomorphic cellular infiltrates containing an increased number of immunoblasts and some giant cells were found also in the portal spaces of the liver. The evolution of Hodgkin's disease (H.D.) from AILD suggests that the latter may have represented a reaction to the agent which causes H.D..