• DOI:10.1002/AJH.10224
• Corpus ID: 23999423

CD3‐negative, CD20‐positive T‐cell prolymphocytic leukemia: Case report and review of the literature

@article{Tamayose2002CD3negativeCT,
  title={CD3‐negative, CD20‐positive T‐cell prolymphocytic leukemia: Case report and review of the literature},
  author={Kenji Tamayose and Naotake Sato and Jun Ando and Koichi Sugimoto and Kazuo Oshimi},
  journal={American Journal of Hematology},
  year={2002},
  volume={71}
}

• K. Tamayose, N. Sato, +2 authors K. Oshimi
• Published 1 December 2002
• Biology, Medicine
• American Journal of Hematology

We report a case of CD3‐negative, CD20‐positive T‐cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T‐PLL). The leukemic cells were of medium‐to‐large size, mature‐looking, and did not have cytoplasmic granules. The leukemic cells were negative for surface CD3, CD2, and CD7 and strongly positive for CD20. T‐cell lineage markers such as CD4, CD5, and cytoplasmic CD3 were also positive. A monoclonal rearrangement of the T‐cell receptor (TCR) β chain gene was detected. CD3‐negative T‐PLL has been reported often, but CD20‐positive T‐PLL has not. We reviewed seven cases of CD20‐positive immature and mature T‐cell leukemias, including the present case. Three were immature T‐cell leukemias (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), and four were mature T‐cell leukemias (granular lymphocytic leukemia, small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia, adult T‐cell leukemia, and the present case). Splenomegaly was a common feature. However, our case alone had “bright” CD20 expression on the leukemic cells. This is the first report of CD20+ T‐PLL. Am. J. Hematol. 71:331–335, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.