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Composite Lymphoma

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Practical Lymph Node and Bone Marrow Pathology

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Abstract

Composite lymphoma is defined as two or more distinctly different types of lymphoma existing in the same organ or tissue site at the time of presentation. The incidence of composite lymphoma is estimated at 1–4%. The diagnosis of composite lymphoma requires each lymphoma component fulfilling the diagnostic criteria defined by WHO hematopoietic malignancy classification. In theory, composite lymphoma can be combination of any two or more types of lymphoma, either Hodgkin lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The term composite lymphoma is best used as a descriptive designation, and the components within composite lymphoma can be clonally related or clonally independent. This chapter covers important practical aspects in composite lymphoma including disease definition, pathogenesis, main subtypes, major diagnostic work-up, diagnosis report format, differential diagnosis, and treatment consideration. Multiple cases are presented to illustrate the diagnostic work-up of different subtypes of composite lymphoma, emphasizing the diagnostic clues and importance of integration of clinical presentation, morphology, immunophenotype, cytogenetics, and molecular findings to establish the diagnosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Rohit Gulati & Jiehao Zhou

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  1. Rohit Gulati
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  2. Jiehao Zhou
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Correspondence to Jiehao Zhou .

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  1. Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Health System, Durham, NC, USA

    Endi Wang

  2. Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Health System, Durham, NC, USA

    Anand Shreeram Lagoo

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Gulati, R., Zhou, J. (2020). Composite Lymphoma. In: Wang, E., Lagoo, A.S. (eds) Practical Lymph Node and Bone Marrow Pathology. Practical Anatomic Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32189-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32189-5_16

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