SHORT REPORT

Primary T cell lymphoma of salivary gland: a report of a case and review of the literature

W S R Hew¹, F A Carey¹, N M Kernohan¹, A D Heppleston², R Jackson³, R F Jarrett⁴

¹ Department of Pathology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK
² Department of Haematology, Lincoln County Hospital, Greetwell Road, Lincoln DN33 2BA, UK
³ Department of Pathology, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow G4 0SF, UK
⁴ LRF Virus Centre, Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr WSR Hew, Department of Pathology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK;
roger.w.hew{at}tuht.scot.nhs.uk

Lymphoma of the salivary gland accounts for 5% of cases of extranodal lymphoma and 10% of malignant salivary gland tumours. Most primary salivary gland lymphomas are B marginal zone lymphomas arising on a background of sialadenitis associated with autoimmune disorders such as Sjorgen's syndrome. Primary T cell lymphoma of the salivary gland is rare. This report describes a case of primary T cell lymphoma arising in the parotid gland of an elderly white man, which was notable for its striking resemblance to a B cell extranodal marginal zone lymphoma. Immunohistochemistry and gene rearrangement studies confirmed the clonal T cell nature of the tumour. There was no molecular evidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection of neoplastic or surroundings cells. Only 14 cases of primary T cell lymphoma of the salivary glands have been recorded in the literature, most being from the Orient and having extremely variable prognosis. Those with a T/natural killer cell phenotype are associated with EBV infection. This case highlights the fact that T cell lymphoma in the salivary gland can mimic closely the morphological features of B cell extranodal marginal zone lymphoma.

Keywords: salivary gland; T cell lymphoma; Epstein Barr virus

Abbreviations: ALK1, anaplastic lymphoma kinase antibody; CHOP regimen, cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin (adriamycin), oncovin (vincristine), and prednisolone; EBER, Epstein-Barr virus encoded early nuclear RNA; EBV, Epstein-Barr virus; IgH, immunoglobulin heavy chain; MACOP regimen, methotrexate, adriamycin (doxorubicin), cyclophosphamide, oncovin (vincristine), and prednisolone; NHL, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; NK, natural killer; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; TCR, T cell receptor; TdT, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase

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