Splenic marginal zone lymphoma with predominant red pulp involvement lacking p53 overexpression

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is defined in the World Health Organization (WHO) classification as a B cell lymphoma comprising small lymphocytes that surround and replace the splenic white pulp and merge with a peripheral (marginal) zone of larger cells, leading to a biphasic zonal pattern. The tumour involves the spleen, splenic hilar lymph node, bone marrow and often, peripheral blood. Recently, Mollejo et al 1 proposed a putative diffuse variant of SMZL with predominantly red-pulp involvement, absence of follicular replacement and a monomorphous population of tumour cells resembling marginal zone B cells, with scattered nucleolated blast cells. They found high p53 expression in all four patients, with p53 gene mutation in two. Here, we report a case similar to that reported by Mollejo et al, without p53 overexpression. A 34-year-old woman presented …