Epstein-Barr virus negative clonal plasma cell proliferations and lymphomas in peripheral T-cell lymphomas: a phenomenon with distinctive clinicopathologic features.

Clonal B-cell populations have been described in peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) as secondary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) driven B-cell expansions that may evolve to an overt B-cell lymphoma. EBV-negative B-cell proliferations associated with T-cell lymphomas are uncommon and not well characterized. We studied 15 patients who developed an EBV-negative B-cell proliferation or malignant lymphoma associated with PTCL. The T-cell tumors were 8 PTCL, not otherwise specified, 4 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphomas, and 3 cutaneous PTCL. The B-cell component was intermingled with the PTCL in all patients and it was classified as clonal/monotypic plasma cell proliferation in 8 lesions, clonal/monotypic large B-cell proliferation in 4 patients, and B-cell lymphoma with plasma-cytic/plasmablastic differentiation in 3 patients. Two patients had 2 clonally unrelated plasma cell proliferations associated with the same PTCL. All cases showed cytoplasmic Ig light chain restriction. Clonal IgH and T-cell receptor rearrangements were detected in 11/12 and 11/13 cases examined, respectively. EBV, cytomegalovirus, and HHV-8 were not observed in any of the examined cases. Sequential samples in 7 patients showed persistence of the PTCL and the B-cell component in 4, the PTCL without the B-cell lymphoma in 2, and progression of the B-cell neoplasm in 1. Patients followed an aggressive clinical course similar to conventional PTCL. In conclusion, EBV-negative clonal or mononotypic B-cell proliferations in patients with PTCL present with a spectrum of lesions ranging from plasma cell proliferations to overt lymphomas with plasmacytic/ plasmablastic features. The distinctive features of these patients suggest that these lesions represent a specific phenomenon in PTCL.