CD2−CD4+CD56+ hematodermic/hematolymphoid malignancy

• Published in: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2001-02, Vol.44 (2), p.231-238
• Main Authors: Kato, Naoko, Yasukawa, Kana, Kimura, Kumiko, Sugawara, Hiroshi, Aoyagi, Satoru, Mishina, Takayuki, Nakata, Tadanobu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; CD2 Antigens - analysis; CD4 Antigens - analysis; CD56 Antigen - analysis; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; Humans; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Lymphoma - immunology; Lymphoma - pathology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - immunology; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - pathology; Skin Neoplasms - immunology; Skin Neoplasms - pathology
• ISSN: 0190-9622; 1097-6787
• DOI: 10.1067/mjd.2001.110897

Background: CD2− CD4+ CD56+ lymphoid malignancy has been only rarely reported the last 5 years. It is characterized by a high incidence of cutaneous involvement, cytologically agranular cells, aggressive clinical course, and negative Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) involvement. Observation: We describe a Japanese patient with a unique hematolymphoid malignancy characterized by an involvement of skin, nasopharyngeal region, bone marrow, lymph node, and a CD4+ CD43+ CD56+ CD2−CD3−CD8− and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase phenotype. Clinically, the cutaneous eruptions were purplish, hard, multiple nodules. Histologically, a massive proliferation of atypical pleomorphic cells with medium-sized nuclei were observed throughout the dermis. No clonal rearrangement of T-cell receptor (TCR)-β gene or immunoglobulin heavy chain J gene was found, and no positive identification of EBV by in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded small nuclear RNA was found. The patient underwent high-dose chemotherapy with autografting of peripheral blood stem cells; however, the tumors quickly relapsed. Conclusion: We gathered data from 17 cases of lymphoid malignancy from the literature sharing immunophenotypic and genotypic features similar to those of our case, including CD2−CD4+CD56+ and germline rearrangement of TCR. Although the cellular origin could not be decided, this malignancy was found to have 100% affinity for skin, a short course, and poor prognosis. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;44:231-8.)