Cervical Lymphadenopathy Mimicking Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma after Dapsone-Induced Hypersensitivity Syndrome

Since the first description by Saltzstein in 1959, the denomination of drug-induced pseudolymphoma was used to describe two cutaneous adverse drug reactions with a histological picture mimicking malignant lymphoma. On the basis of clinical presentation, this term includes two different patterns: (1) hypersensitivity syndrome which begins acutely in the first 2 months after the initiation of the drug and associates fever, a severe skin disease with characteristic infiltrated papules and facial edema or an exfoliative dermatitis, lymphadenopathy, hematologic abnormalities (hypereosinophilia, atypical lymphocytes) and organ involvement such as hepatitis, carditis, interstitial nephritis, or interstitial pneumonitis. The cutaneous histological pattern shows a lymphocytic infiltrate, sometimes mimicking a cutaneous lymphoma, and the mortality rate is about 10%. When organ involvement exists, corticosteroids are often prescribed with dramatic improvement. Relapses may occur. (2) drug-induced pseudolymphoma which has a more insidious beginning with nodules and infiltrated plaques appearing several weeks after the beginning of the drug without constitutional symptoms. A pseudolymphoma pattern is seen on cutaneous histological slides. Complete improvement is usual after drug withdrawal, but a delayed lymphoma is possible. To decrease the ambiguity of the denomination of hypersensitivity syndrome, we propose the term of DRESS (Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms).

At present more than 350 drugs are known to cause injury of the lung parenchyma,upper and lower airways, pulmonary circulation, pleura, mediastinum, lymph nodes,and neuromuscular system. Infiltrative lung disease (ILD) is the most common pattern of drug-induced injury. This article, which is clinically oriented rather than drug oriented, reviews the patterns of ILD produced by therapeutic drugs and radiation therapy.

This study aimed to define genotypic profile and to describe the clinicopathologic features of nasal-type natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma of nasal and extranasal origin and NK precursor lymphoma. NK/T-cell lymphomas from the upper aerodigestive tract (n = 45), skin (n = 2), gastrointestinal tract (n = 3), and soft tissue (n = 2) and NK precursor neoplasms (n = 3) were studied. Immunophenotype was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. In situ hybridization with EBER 1/2 RNA probes was performed. T-Cell Receptor (TCR)-gamma gene rearrangement was analyzed by seminested polymerase chain reaction with heteroduplex analysis. Overall survival rate was correlated with clinicopathologic parameters and compared by Wilcoxon test. Clonal TCR-gamma gene rearrangement was detected in 3 of 31 upper aerodigestive and 1 of 2 skin tumors. When immunostained using paraffin embedded tissue, 6 upper aerodigestive lymphomas were negative for CD56 in which 4 cases lacked clonal TCR gene rearrangement. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) mRNA was detected in 33 upper aerodigestive tumors including 26 of 29 nasal tumors (90%), and 7 of 10 extranasal tumors (70%). There was no histologic, immunophenotypic, or genotypic differences according to the lineage and EBV association in upper aerodigestive lymphomas. Among the patients with upper aerodigestive tumors, overall 1-year survival rate was 41%, and correlated well with the stage (P 0.05). Median survival rate of lymphomas from other sites excluding upper aerodigestive tract was not significantly different from that of upper aerodigestive lymphomas with same stage (P > 0.05). Unlike nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphomas, NK precursor lymphoma involved the bone marrow and lymph nodes at initial presentation or in the course of disease. Tumor cells were positive for TdT in all and myeloid markers in two. TCR gene rearrangement was germ line. Most upper aerodigestive nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphomas among Koreans are genotypically of NK derivation and few belong to T lineage. Presence or absence of EBV has no significant correlation with the histologic changes and the lineage of these lymphomas. Copyright 2000 American Cancer Society.