Alterations in the primary diagnosis of lymphomas pretreated with corticosteroid agents

Abstract

Little is known of the role of preliminary corticosteroids in clinical and morphological modifications and in difficulties in reaching a diagnosis in patients with lymphoma. We identified 31 patients who were given steroids before biopsy for primary diagnosis. We looked for the reason for steroid pretreatment, its dose, and duration. We evaluated the difficulty in reaching the primary diagnosis and whether a secondary diagnosis was made. The patients' slides were reviewed to identify secondary histological changes. Our findings suggest a variable effect of prior glucocorticoids on the clinical and histopathological alterations developing in malignant lymphomas, as well as on the complexity of the process of reaching a diagnosis.

Keywords:

• Corticosteroid
• glucocorticoids
• prior treatment
• lymphoma
• apoptosis

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.