Plasmablastic Lymphoma
Definition
- Lymphoma with plasmablastic morphology predominantly associated with HIV infection
Alternate/Historical Names
- Immunoblastic lymphoma
Diagnostic Criteria
- Plasmablastic cytology / immunoblastic morphology
- Prominent central nucleolus
- Abundant basophilic cytoplasm
- Perinuclear hof
- Arises in two settings:
- Most cases involve oral cavity or jaw
- Some cases associated with multi-centric Castleman disease
- Usually involves lymph node or spleen
- Nearly all cases in HIV positive patients
- CD20 negative or weak
- Ki67 >95%
- Diffuse architecture
Yasodha Natkunam MD PhD
Robert V Rouse MD
Department of Pathology
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford CA 94305-5342
Original posting:: May 1, 2006