Journal of Clinical & Experimental Pathology
Open Access

Abstract

Background: Primary lymphoma of the central nervous system represents a rare sub-category of extra nodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas which are confined to the brain, leptomeninges, eyes, and, rarely, spinal cord. PCNSL occurs without any systemic disease involvement at the time of diagnosis, and has to be distinguished. We herein report 11 cases of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma from a tertiary care institution in Coastal Karnataka, India. Aims: To study the clinicopathological and histopathological features of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma diagnosed in the Pathology department over the last 10 years. Material & Methods: The study is a retrospective analysis of 11 cases of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) retrieved from the histopathology records of the Pathology department, from January 2005 to December 2014. Results: The majority of the patients were females (72%). The age range was 41 to 78 years. The majority of lesions were located principally in the cerebral hemispheres and two of the lesions were located in the posterior fossa in the left cerebellum. The symptoms were present for a varying duration, ranging from one week to three months. Histological examination of the sterotactic biopsies revealed diffuse sheets of medium to large atypical lymphoid cells with angiocentric pattern of distribution. Immunohistochemistry done in eight cases showed strong immunopositvity with CD 20 immunostaining. Due to the fact that PCNSL of the Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma type are highly aggressive tumours, early diagnosis is essential for successful treatment and improvement of prognosis.

Biography

Jyoti R Kini is a medical graduate with an MD in Pathology from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Karnataka, India. She is currently serving as Associate Professor in the department of Pathology at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, a constituent college of Manipal University. She is actively involved in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the institution. She is also in-charge of the Clinical Pathology and Hematology laboratory attached to the KMC Hospital. She has more than 20 publications in reputed journals. Her fields of interest are neuro-oncopathology and gastrointestinal pathology.