T-cell LPD of the GIT: first do no harm.

In this issue of Blood, Perry et al describe cases of an indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) that mimics inflammatory bowel disease or peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). The lesions involved all sites in the GIT, and mucosal infiltrates consisted of small lymphoid cells with minimal atypia. The cases were phenotypically heterogeneous but predominantly CD81/CD42, and all had clonal T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements.