The plasmablastic lymphomas (PBLs) are an aggressive group of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas occurring primarily in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals with absolute CD4 counts less than 200 per microliter. It was considered to be a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a unique immunophenotype and occurred primarily in the oral cavity. Recent studies report that PBLs also occur in patients without HIV infection. Herein we report an unusual case of plasmablastic lymphoma presenting in nasal cavity in a 74-year-old, HIV-negative woman. Cytologic and histologic examinations demonstrated a large cell lymphoma with plasmacytic differentiation. The tumor cells were positive for CD79a, CD38, however lacked expression of leukocyte common antigen, T-cell, and B-cell markers. Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNA transcripts were identified by in situ hybridization. To our best knowledge, this is the second case of plasmablastic lymphoma in HIV-negative patient in Korea. (Korean J Hematol 2009;44:122-126.)

Keywords: Plasmablastic lymphoma, Human immunodeficiency virus, Epstein-Barr virus