[Morphologic changes of the small intestine and lymph nodes in alpha-chain disease]

Literature and original data are reported on a case of alpha-chain disease associated with small intestine lymphoma in a male patient aged 20. The disease manifested clinically with chronic diarrhea, malabsorption, hypoproteinemia, hypocalcemia, cachexia, discretely detected alpha-chain monomer. Morphologically, there was lymphoplasmacyte infiltration of the intestinal mucosal layer; capsule collagenization, clustering immunoblasts among microlymphocytes, a pronounced macrophagal reaction, intercellular crystalloid and lymph masses, follicular pattern disappearance, sites of cellular polymorphism revealed in an axillary lymph node. The latter finding evidenced for developing immunoblastic sarcoma.