Pleural lymphoma in a patient presenting with malabsorption: an illustration of the clinicopathological behaviour in a case of enteropathy associated T cell lymphoma.

A case of enteropathy associated T cell lymphoma (EATCL) is described, which was diagnosed by biopsy of a lymphomatous pleural mass. Retrospective radiological review showed that this lesion had been present when an initial diagnosis of coeliac disease had been made 12 months previously and a detailed description of the natural history of the lymphoma during this period was thus available. The findings show that EATCL may behave in an indolent fashion and masquerade as coeliac disease, delaying the correct diagnosis. The relation of this disorder with coeliac disease and lymphocytic gastritis is discussed with reference to recent published works.