A woman with visual loss, amenorrhoea and polyuria: the first reported case of nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma presenting with hypopituitarism.

Summary: A 34-year-old woman presented 18 months post-partum with blurred vision, polyuria, amenorrhoea, headache and general malaise. Comprehensive clinical examination showed left superior temporal visual loss only. Initial investigations revealed panhypopituitarism and MRI demonstrated a sellar mass involving the infundibulum and hypothalamus.

Post-transplant hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma successfully treated with HyperCVAD regimen.

Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTL) is an aggressive lymphoma. In post-transplant immunosuppressed patients, HSTL is usually rapidly fatal. We report successful treatment of post-transplant HSTL in a 50-year-old renal allograft recipient by reducing immunosuppression and using intensive chemotherapy consisting of alternating cycles of HyperCVAD (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone) and MTX/HiDAC (methotrexate, Ara-C).

The role of molecular studies in lymphoma diagnosis: a review.

Lymphoma classification is based on a multiparametric approach to diagnosis, in which clinical features, morphology, immunophenotype, karyotype and molecular characteristics are important to varying degrees. While in most cases, a diagnosis can be confidently established on the basis of morphology and immunophenotype alone, a small proportion of diagnostically difficult cases will rely on molecular studies to enable a definitive diagnosis. This review discusses the various molecular techniques available including Southern blotting (SB), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH)--including multicolour-FISH/spectral karyotyping and comparative genomic hybridisation--and also gene expression profiling using cDNA microarray technology.

A single-centre experience of post-renal transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) complicates 1 to 10% of all transplantations. Previous clinicopathological studies of PTLD have been limited by small numbers, short follow-up times, outdated data, heterogeneity of pooled solid-organ transplant results, and selective inclusion of early-onset disease. We therefore undertake here a retrospective analysis and identify all cases of PTLD that complicated renal transplantation at the Princess Alexandra Hospital between 30 June 1969 and 31 May 2001.

Relapsed plasma cell leukaemia presenting with aggressive extramedullary plasmacytomas in the meninges and testis--a missed opportunity for induction CNS prophylaxis.

After initial treatment, a 54-year-old male with plasma cell leukaemia developed extramedullary relapse in the testis and meninges without evidence of bone marrow involvement. We postulate that the central nervous system (CNS) and testis may have served as sanctuary sites for the disease during initial treatment. A role for CNS prophylaxis in plasma cell leukaemia is suggested.

Identification of tumours with the CD43 only phenotype during the investigation of suspected lymphoma: a heterogeneous group not necessarily of T cell origin.

Aims: CD43 is usually employed as a T cell marker in the immunophenotypic work-up of suspected cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). In this setting, tumours expressing CD43 in the absence of other T or B cell markers (CD43 only phenotype) are rare. We present four cases with this aberrant phenotype seen at our institution.