Fine-needle aspiration biopsy for the primary diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders involving the spleen: One institution's experience and review of the literature

Abstract

We report the fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy findings for the primary diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders involving the spleen. We analyzed six cases of primary diagnosed lymphoma involving the spleen and out of these cases, identified one case of primary splenic lymphoma. We explore the potential pitfalls and difficulties encountered in making a primary diagnosis of lymphoma involving the spleen and how the preparation of the specimen for flow cytometric studies and/or cell block for immunohistochemical analysis can greatly aid in making a definitive diagnosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of T-cell rich B-cell subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and only the second report of primary splenic lymphoma of the spleen diagnosed by FNA biopsy. An extensive review and analysis of the literature involving FNA biopsy of the spleen is also discussed.