Giant lymph node hyperplasia with unusual clinicopathologic features

This report describes two cases of giant lymph node hyperplasia (GLNH) with unusual clinicopathologic features, both studied with immunohistochemical techniques. In the first case, mesenteric GLNH was associated with amyloidosis and the nephrotic syndrome. In the second, GLNH developed in a patient with previously treated Hodgkin's disease. In both cases, the GLNH was of the plasma cell variant. The plasma cells of the first case contained both kappa and lambda light chains, while those in the second case contained only the lambda light chain. The presence or absence of monoclonality was not predictable from the morphology alone. Cases of GLNH with unusual clinicopathologic features are reviewed and the significance of immunohistochemical studies discussed.