Mediastinal follicular dendritic cell sarcoma involving bone marrow: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

We report a rare case of mediastinal follicular dendritic cell (FDC) sarcoma involving the bone marrow. The patient, a 46-year-old woman, had a clinically aggressive tumor in the anterior mediastinum that was initially diagnosed as a diffuse B-cell lymphoma. She received chemotherapy but showed no significant improvement. One year later, the patient presented at our institution with pelvic bone metastases. Biopsy specimens of the sacrum lesion and bone marrow were obtained. The diagnosis of FDC sarcoma was made based on histological examination and immunohistochemical findings, including strong positive staining of tumor cells for CD21, CD23, clusterin, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and negative staining for CD20, CD30, CD45, CD1a, S-100, vimentin, and keratin cocktail. Histological examination and immunohistochemical studies of a previous biopsy of the mediastinal mass confirmed the diagnosis of mediastinal FDC sarcoma. The patient was treated with an appropriate chemotherapy regimen; 1 month later, follow-up bone marrow biopsy revealed no tumor cells. Although FDC sarcoma is considered a low-grade tumor, the tumor in the present case not only developed at an unusual location with bone metastasis but also involved bone marrow. To our knowledge, this is the first such case ever reported. This case also highlights the utility of EGFR as an immunohistochemical marker of dendritic cell tumors that could be used as a diagnostic tool and guide for choosing appropriate chemotherapy regimens.