Home > Lymphoma and plasma cell neoplasms > Mantle cell lymphoma - blastoid variant
Lymphoma and plasma cell neoplasms
B cell lymphoma subtypes
Mantle cell lymphoma - blastoid variant


Nikhil Sangle, M.D.

Topic Completed: 1 February 2011

Revised: 6 February 2019

Copyright: 2001-2018, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

PubMed Search: mantle cell lymphoma blastoid variant


Nikhil Sangle, M.D.
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Table of Contents
Clinical features | Case reports | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Positive stains | Negative stains | Molecular / cytogenetics description | Differential diagnosis
Cite this page: Sangle N. Mantle cell lymphoma - blastoid variant. PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/lymphomaMCLblastoid.html. Accessed October 13th, 2019.
Clinical features
  • Median age 63 years, range 40 - 79 years; 80% men
  • Moderate to marked leukocytosis
  • Aggressive behavior
Case reports
Microscopic (histologic) description
  • Diffuse, nodular or mantle zone pattern
  • Higher grade histologic features than classic mantle cell
  • Either (a) lymphoblastic with intermediate size cells containing round nuclei and finely disbursed chromatin, marked mitotic activity and leukemic involvement, resembling CLL / SLL or AML; or (b) pleomorphic with heterogeneous larger cells with deeply indented, pleomorphic nuclei and variably prominent nucleoli, high proliferation rate, often with striking staining of chromatin due to tetraploid clones, resembling diffuse large B cell lymphoma
Microscopic (histologic) images

Images hosted on other servers:

Cases with prominent nucleoli

Positive stains
Negative stains
Molecular / cytogenetics description
  • t(11;14)
  • Blastoid variant is also associated with c-MYC and 8q24 abnormalities (Mod Pathol 2002;15:1266)
  • Usually complex karyotypes with 3+ additional chromosomal abnormalities, most commonly chromosome 13; also 18, 17, 8 and 3 (Hum Pathol 2003;34:1022)
Differential diagnosis
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