Bone involvement and abcess formation by neutrophil-rich CD30+anaplastic large-cell lymphoma mimicking skeletal infection in an AIDS patient

Neutrophil-rich CD30 + anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a rare pathological entity without distinct clinical behavior. Twelve cases of neutrophil-rich CD30 + anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) have been reported, three of them were HIV-infected patients. All these reports stressed the presence of neutrophil infiltration as a new morphologic feature of CD30 + ALCL. Only one case of cutaneous involvement presented with microabscess formation. We describe a case of neutrophil-rich CD30 + ALCL in an AIDS patient with a clinical picture determined by the massive neutrophil infiltration of the tumor without necrosis nor local infection, but with the formation of abscesses. (C) 2003 The British Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.