Immunoblastic lymphoma following Hodgkin's disease: a case report with translocation t(8;14) in tumoral cells and sporadic t(7;14) in peripheral lymphocytes.

A non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was observed in a patient who had been treated for Hodgkin's disease (HD). The initial treatment consisted of radiotherapy alone, but following three subsequent relapses, both chemotherapy and radiotherapy were administered several times. Twenty years later, the biopsy of an isolated cervical lymph node revealed a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The histologic subtype was immunoblastic. Cytogenetic studies of the tumoral cells revealed a t(8;14)(q24;q32) translocation. At the same time, multiple chromosomal rearrangements were observed in peripheral blood lymphocytes, especially t(7;14)(q35;q12), which was noted in 6 of 53 mitoses. This anomaly, frequently observed in patients with ataxia telangiectasia or severe immunodeficiency, has not previously been described in such circumstances.