Hodgkin's lymphoma with exuberant granulomatous reaction

Abstract

We report a 36-year-old woman, presented with cervical lymphadenopathy and low-grade fever. Two fine needle aspiration cytology and one excisional biopsy were performed in the referral hospital, all showed granulomatous lesions without necrosis. A tentative diagnosis of tuberculosis was made, and she started on antituberculous treatment. However, there was no clinical improvement. She presented to our institution one year after the initial diagnosis, and a new biopsy from the cervical lymph node revealed effacement of the whole node by marked non-necrotizing granulomatous reaction. However, there were scattered large cells with few classic Reed-Sternberg cells between the granulomas. Immunohistochemistry reveals strong reaction of CD15 and CD30, and negative staining for CD45RB, CD45RO, and CD20. These findings confirmed the diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma with remarkable granulomatous reaction that almost masked the malignant component. She was treated with chemotherapy, and she showed an excellent response.