TIM-3 deficiency presenting with two clonally unrelated episodes of mesenteric and subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

Abstract

This report offers novel clinical and diagnostic aspects of the association between germline mutations in HAVCR2 and subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL). The patient presented with panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma involving mesenteric fatty tissue associated with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Five years later, he developed a clonally unrelated SPTCL and underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Retrospectively, he was found to carry germline mutations in HAVCR2 associated with reduced T-cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (TIM-3) expression. We show that mesenteric fatty tissue localization of SPTCL can be the presenting manifestation of TIM-3 deficiency, that this condition predisposes to recurrent lymphoma, and that flow cytometry is a possible screening tool.

Keywords: congenital immunodeficiency (not HIV); hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; stem cell transplantation; subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma.