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. 2023 Mar 7:17:11795549231156692.
doi: 10.1177/11795549231156692. eCollection 2023.

Characteristics of Extranodal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma, Nasal Type, Compared with Nasal Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

Hirotaka Tanaka  1   2 , Eri Mori  2 , Taisuke Akutsu  2 , Shota Saito  3 , Masayoshi Tei  2 , Nobuyoshi Otori  2
Affiliations

Characteristics of Extranodal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma, Nasal Type, Compared with Nasal Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

Hirotaka Tanaka et al. Clin Med Insights Oncol. .

Abstract

Background: Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKL), is an aggressive tumour with poor prognosis. Its early diagnosis may improve the prognosis of patients; however, it is often overlooked in many cases and misdiagnosed as an inflammatory sinus disease during its initial stage. Identifying the clinical characteristics of ENKL may aid otorhinolaryngologists in indicating cases early for a pathologic examination. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of ENKL compared with that of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which is the most common nasal malignant lymphoma.

Methods: The backgrounds, clinical symptoms, blood test results, and computed tomography images of patients with nasal/paranasal malignant lymphoma in our hospital between 2012 and 2017 were investigated. The characteristics of ENKL and nasal DLBCL were compared to differentiate them.

Results: A total of 27 patients with nasal cavity and/or paranasal sinus lymphoma were included. Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, was diagnosed in 10 patients, while DLBCL was diagnosed in 17 patients. The median age of patients with ENKL was significantly lower than that of patients with DLBCL. All patients with ENKL had a unilateral lesion in the nasal cavity, with most located at the inferior turbinate. They also experienced nasal symptoms with significantly higher incidence of nasal obstruction and tendency of bleeding.

Conclusion: ENKL was often unilateral and caused nasal obstruction, unlike DLBCL. Those who are younger in age and have sinonasal tumour with unilateral nasal obstruction and bleeding should be considered for early and repeated biopsies at multiple sites, with ENKL taken into consideration.

Keywords: B-cell; Early diagnosis; extranodal NK/T-cell; lymphoma; nose neoplasms; paranasal sinus neoplasms.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Sinus computed tomography images of nasal and paranasal lymphoma. (A) Nasal cavity tumour. (B) Paranasal sinus tumour.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Survival curves for ENKL and DLBCL. DLBCL indicates diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; ENKL, extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type; OS, overall survival; PFS, progression-free survival.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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