PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ruben Rhoades
AU  - Jerald Gong
AU  - Neil Palmisiano
AU  - Onder Alpdogan
TI  - Primary central nervous system plasmablastic lymphoma in an HIV-positive patient
AID  - 10.1136/bcr-2018-226755
DP  - 2019 Mar 01
TA  - BMJ Case Reports
PG  - e226755
VI  - 12
IP  - 3
4099  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/12/3/e226755.short
4100  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/12/3/e226755.full
SO  - BMJ Case Reports2019 Mar 01; 12
AB  - Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, highly associated with HIV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections. It commonly presents in extranodal sites, often an oral mass, but reports of primary central nervous system PBL (PCNSPBL) are exceedingly rare. Here, we report on a 33-year-old man with newly diagnosed HIV infection who presented with acute-onset unilateral visual disturbance and was found to have biopsy-proven PCNSPBL. The neoplastic cells displayed a plasmacytoid appearance, with the expression of CD38 and CD138, and were positive for EBV by in situ hybridisation for EBV-encoded RNA. Systemic workup revealed the presence of Kaposi sarcoma, but no evidence of lymphoma. He is currently being treated with high-dose methotrexate, as well as antiretroviral therapy for his HIV infection, and has achieved a complete response.