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. 2023 Apr 11;85(5):2198-2202.
doi: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000000663. eCollection 2023 May.

An unusual association between Burkitt's lymphoma and a Carcinoid tumor in a Syrian boy: a rare case report

Haidara Kherbek  1 , Marah Hinawi  1 , Khedr Layka  1 , Yana Hleibieh  1 , Khawla Jaber  1 , Roukaya Jaber  1 , Zuheir Alshehabi  2
Affiliations

An unusual association between Burkitt's lymphoma and a Carcinoid tumor in a Syrian boy: a rare case report

Haidara Kherbek et al. Ann Med Surg (Lond). .

Abstract

Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), an aggressive kind of non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma. On the other hand, appendiceal carcinoid tumors are uncommon neuroendocrine neoplasms.

Case presentation: The authors report a case of a 15-year-old Syrian adolescent who was admitted to our hospital due to a persistent, severe generalized abdomen pain accompanied by nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and inability to pass stool or gas. An abdominal radiograph revealed dilated intestinal loops with air-fluid levels. The patient underwent emergency surgery through which a retroperitoneal mass was removed as well as part of the ileum and the appendix. The final diagnosis was consistent with intestinal BL associated with an appendiceal carcinoid tumor.

Discussion: The correlation between gastrointestinal carcinoids and other types of tumors was frequently reported. However, there have been few reports of carcinoid tumors being associated with lymphoreticular system cancers. BLs were classified into three variants: endemic, sporadic, and acquired immunodeficiency-associated BL while appendiceal neuroendocrine tumors were classified as the following: well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors with benign or uncertain malignant potential; well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma with low malignant potential; and mixed exocrine-neuroendocrine carcinoma.

Conclusion: Our article demonstrates an unusual association between BL and an appendiceal carcinoid tumor that highlights the significant role of histological and immunohistochemical staining in confirming the diagnosis, as well as the role of surgery in treating the complications of intestinal BLs.

Keywords: Burkitt’s lymphoma; carcinoid tumor; case report; immunohistochemistry; neuroendocrine tumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declares that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Abdominal radiograph showing multiple fluid-gas levels, (B) Abdominal computed-tomography showing segmental-wall thickening (arrows) with fluid-gas levels.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Sheets of monotonous intermediate-sized cells with starry sky appearance consistent with Burkitt's lymphoma (H&E×200), (B) uniform, polygonal-shaped tumor cells with round to oval nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm (H&E×200).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Immunohistochemistry staining showing positivity of: (A) BCL-6, (B) BCL-2, (C) CD20,(D) CD10,(E) KI67 of 100%, (F) Chromogranin-A.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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