THE BLASTIC VARIANT OF MANTLE CELL LYMPHOMA ARISING IN WALDEYERS TONSILLAR RING

We present three cases of blastic mantle cell lymphoma with an unusual initial manifestation in Waldeyer's ring with methods for differentia ting it from other blastic neoplasms of the head and neck. All cases p resented with a feeling of fullness in the area of the mass. Morpholog ically, the tumours were blastic with a high mitotic rate (three to ni ne per high power field). All were B-cell phenotype with coexpression of CD43. In all cases cyclin D1 and bcl-2 were positive and CD23 negat ive. Blastic mantle cell lymphoma occurring in Waldeyer's tonsillar ri ng may be mistaken for other high grade haematopoietic neoplasms. Immu nohistochemistry and awareness of this type of lymphoma are helpful in differentiating it from other neoplasms.