Table 1

Entities that should be considered as causes of a T cell-rich lymphoid infiltrate with large B cells

Main categoryEntities
Reactive

  • Infectious mononucleosis*

  • Other reactive lymphoid proliferations with prominent immunoblasts (eg, autoimmune diseases, viral infections, drug reactions)

BorderlineUsually indolent

  • EBV-positive mucocutaneous ulcer

May be aggressive

  • Polymorphic immunodeficiency-related lymphoproliferative disorders (Polymorphic ID-LPD)* (eg, polymorphic post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder)

  • Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (grades 1 and 2)

Neoplastic T cells

  • Angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma*

  • Follicular T cell lymphoma

  • Nodal PTCL with T-follicular helper phenotype

  • PTCL, NOS

Neoplastic B cells

  • CHL*

  • Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma*

  • T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B cell lymphoma*

  • EBV-positive DLBCL

  • B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between DLBCL and CHL

  • *Entities discussed in detail in this review.

  • CHL, classical Hodgkin lymphoma; DLBCL, diffuse large B cell lymphoma; EBV, Epstein-Barr virus; NOS, not otherwise specified; PTCL, peripheral T cell lymphoma.