Article Text
Summary
Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) classically seen in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, but can also be seen in other immunocompromised states such as transplant recipients, autoimmune diseases and the elderly. PBL is generally associated with a poor prognosis despite chemotherapy. There is evidence supporting the use of bortezomib in combination with standard chemotherapy to achieve durable responses in patients with PBL. We describe a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who presented with rectal pain and bright red blood per rectum. He was diagnosed with stage IVA PBL with anorectal, nodal, calvarial and hepatic involvement. Along with highly active antiretroviral therapy, he was treated with six cycles of dose adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin (DA-EPOCH) plus bortezomib resulting in durable complete remission 30 months after diagnosis.
- malignant and benign haematology
- hiv / aids
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Footnotes
Contributors NA, AG and NS were involved in the conception and design, acquisition and analysis of data, drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and gave final approval of the version published.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Obtained.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.