Development of pseudolymphoma of liver following interferon-alpha therapy for chronic hepatitis B

A 42-year-old woman with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis B, who had been treated with human leukocyte-derived interferon-alpha (huLe-IFN alpha) therapy for two months was found to have liver tumors on routine abdominal ultrasonography examination. She underwent laparotomy, and partial hepatectomy was performed under the clinical diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. The lesions were diagnosed histologically as pseudolymphoma based on the massive infiltration of small mature lymphocytes and the presence of hyperplastic lymph follicles with germinal centers. Immunohistochemistry revealed polyclonal origin of the involved lymphocytes. The possible association between IFN alpha treatment and chronic hepatitis B with the development of pseudolymphoma is discussed.