Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:

Nuclear expression of MATK is a novel marker of type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma

Leukemia volume 25, pages 555–557 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Classical enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) is an uncommon neoplasm associated with a history of childhood coeliac disease. This tumour is characterized by ulcerating intestinal masses composed of an infiltrate of medium to large cells with significant pleomorphism. They display a cytotoxic T-cell phenotype (CD3+, CD5−, CD4−, CD8−/+, TIA1+, CD103+ and TCRβ+/−) and are associated with features of enteropathy in the adjacent mucosa. More recently, a monomorphic form of EATL (type II EATL) has been described with a distinctive and different phenotype, namely CD3+, CD4−, CD8+, CD56+, TIA1+ EBER− and TCRβ+.1, 2 It commonly presents as intestinal perforation or with gastrointestinal symptoms of recent onset, and is the form of EATL seen in Asia, where coeliac disease and classical EATL are almost unheard of.3, 4 Although the expression of CD8 and CD56 is characteristic of type II EATL, a significant number lack one or the other marker (our unpublished observation), which raises diagnostic difficulties in view of the phenotypic overlap with other forms of NK- and T-cell lymphoma.

In conclusion, we have identified a novel marker of type II EATL that shows a distinctive nuclear staining pattern in the vast majority of neoplastic cells. This marker is a useful additional tool in the diagnostic workup of this rare neoplasm, particularly in cases that lack the characteristic CD8 expression (Figure 1).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

References

  1. Isaacson PG, Chott A, Ott G, Stein H . Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma. In: Swerdlow SH, Campo E, Harris NL, Jaffe ES, Pileri SA, Stein H, Thiele J, Vardiman JW (eds). WHO Classification of Tumours of Haematopoeitic and Lymphoid Tissues. IARC Press: Lyon, France, 2008, pp 289–291.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Deleeuw RJ, Zettl A, Klinker E, Haralambieva E, Trottier M, Chari R et al. Whole-genome analysis and HLA genotyping of enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma reveals 2 distinct lymphoma subtypes. Gastroenterology 2007; 132: 1902–1911.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Akiyama T, Okino T, Konishi H, Wani Y, Notohara K, Tsukayama C et al. CD8+, CD56+ (natural killer-like) T-cell lymphoma involving the small intestine with no evidence of enteropathy: clinicopathology and molecular study of five Japanese patients. Pathol Int 2008; 58: 626–634.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. van de Water JM, Cillessen SA, Visser OJ, Verbeek WH, Meijer CJ, Mulder CJ . Enteropathy associated T-cell lymphoma and its precursor lesions. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 2010; 24: 43–56.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    S-Y Tan & L Tan

  2. Office of Research, Singapore Health Services, Singapore, Singapore

    S-Y Tan

  3. Division of Medical Sciences, NCCS-VARI Translational Research Laboratory, National Cancer Center, Singapore, Singapore

    A-S Ooi, M-K Ang, J-C Wong & B-T Teh

  4. Laboratory of Cancer Genetics, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, USA

    A-S Ooi & B-T Teh

  5. Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    M-K Ang, J Ngeow, M Tao & S-T Lim

  6. Singhealth Tissue Repository, Singapore Health Services, Singapore, Singapore

    M Koh

  7. Laboratory of Computational Biology, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, USA

    K Dykema & K Furge

  8. Department of Radiological Oncology, National Cancer Center, Singapore, Singapore

    S Loong

  9. Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    K Gatter

  10. Department of Haematology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    L-C Lim

  11. Department of Pathology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China

    F Loong

  12. Department of Pathology, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    P L Cheah

Authors
  1. S-Y Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A-S Ooi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M-K Ang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M Koh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J-C Wong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. K Dykema
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. J Ngeow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. S Loong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. K Gatter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. L Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. L-C Lim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. K Furge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. M Tao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. S-T Lim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. F Loong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. P L Cheah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. B-T Teh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S-Y Tan.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tan, SY., Ooi, AS., Ang, MK. et al. Nuclear expression of MATK is a novel marker of type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma. Leukemia 25, 555–557 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2010.295

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2010.295

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links