Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Arising from Chronic Tuberculous Empyema

Abstract

Pyothorax-associated lymphoma is a relatively rare type of lymphoma that occurs in patients who have long histories of tuberculous pleuritis or induced pneumothorax. It is a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma of mainly the B-cell phenotype and is strongly associated with Epstein–Barr virus infection. A majority of these cases have been reported in Japan, although some cases have occurred in Western countries. Here, we describe a case of pyothorax-associated lymphoma in a patient with a 30-year history of chronic tuberculous empyema. The patient underwent decortication under the impression of chronic empyema with fistula. The histopathologic diagnosis was a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma associated chronic inflammation.

Characterization of Artificial Pneumothorax-Unrelated Pyothorax-Associated Lymphoma

“…However, artificial pneumothorax has fallen into disuse due to marked progress in tuberculosis control worldwide [ 16 ]. Recently, some cases of PAL present a relatively short duration between the pleuritis and PAL rather than a very long interval that were used to be seen in the past [ 17 – 20 ].…”