Daniel Rozenbaum1, Joe Tung2, Yun Xue3, Mai P Hoang4, Daniela Kroshinsky5. 1. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 3. Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 4. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 5. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: dkroshinsky@mgh.harvard.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The yield of skin biopsies in the evaluation of intravascular lymphoma (IVL) is largely unknown in Western patients. Most data supporting this test come from Asian populations, in which both prevalence and disease presentation seem to differ. OBJECTIVE: To determine the yield and diagnostic properties of skin biopsy in the evaluation of IVL. METHODS: We reviewed skin biopsy pathology reports of 50 patients being evaluated for IVL to calculate the diagnostic yield of this test. An additional 6 patients, who underwent skin biopsies after the diagnosis of IVL was made by other means, were included to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of our index test. RESULTS: Skin biopsy samples were positive for 5 of the 50 patients being investigated for IVL. Sensitivity was 50% and specificity was 100%. LIMITATIONS: Only pathology reports containing IVL as an indication for the biopsy were retrieved. This might have excluded patients in whom the disease was considered but was not deemed likely enough to be listed as the indication for the test, inflating our estimative of skin biopsy yield. CONCLUSION: A relatively high diagnostic yield was found in the evaluation of IVL among patients with a diverse presentation in a Western hospital.
BACKGROUND: The yield of skin biopsies in the evaluation of intravascular lymphoma (IVL) is largely unknown in Western patients. Most data supporting this test come from Asian populations, in which both prevalence and disease presentation seem to differ. OBJECTIVE: To determine the yield and diagnostic properties of skin biopsy in the evaluation of IVL. METHODS: We reviewed skin biopsy pathology reports of 50 patients being evaluated for IVL to calculate the diagnostic yield of this test. An additional 6 patients, who underwent skin biopsies after the diagnosis of IVL was made by other means, were included to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of our index test. RESULTS: Skin biopsy samples were positive for 5 of the 50 patients being investigated for IVL. Sensitivity was 50% and specificity was 100%. LIMITATIONS: Only pathology reports containing IVL as an indication for the biopsy were retrieved. This might have excluded patients in whom the disease was considered but was not deemed likely enough to be listed as the indication for the test, inflating our estimative of skin biopsy yield. CONCLUSION: A relatively high diagnostic yield was found in the evaluation of IVL among patients with a diverse presentation in a Western hospital.
Authors: Thomas Breakell; Heidi Waibel; Stefan Schliep; Barbara Ferstl; Michael Erdmann; Carola Berking; Markus V Heppt Journal: Curr Oncol Date: 2022-04-19 Impact factor: 3.109