Primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma

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Primary Author(s)*

Cancer Category / Type

Mature B-cell Neoplasms

Cancer Sub-Classification / Subtype

Marginal Zone Lymphoma
- Primary Cutaneous Marginal Zone Lymphoma

Definition / Description of Disease

Primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma (PCMZL) is an indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma arising in skin without evidence of extracutaneous disease at the time of diagnosis. The tumor is comprised of monotypic, CD5-negative, CD10-positive neoplastic small B-cells with monotypic plasma cells, and a variable number of reactive T-cells infiltrating the dermis, often forming follicles with reactive germinal centers. Clonal immunoglobulin rearrangement may be present, thus determining the subtype as class-switched versus non-class-switched heavy-chain immunophenotype. There must be no evidence of extracutaneous disease at the time of diagnosis and other cutaneous lymphomas must be excluded.

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Synonyms / Terminology

Primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoproliferative disorder (acceptable)
Primary cutaneous immunocytoma (historical; no longer in use)
Primary cutaneous plasmacytoma (historical; no longer in use)

Epidemiology / Prevalence

30-40% of all primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas
Predominantly affects adults in the fifth and sixth decades of life
Male preponderance
Unknown etiology in most cases
Possible causes include chronic antigenic stimulation by intradermally applied antigens (e.g. tattoo pigments, vaccines, tick-borne bacteria, etc.)
Association with Borrelia burgdorferi infection in endemic Europe but not associated in USA or Asia
Patients tend to have increased gastrointestinal disorders and various autoimmune diseases as well

Clinical Features

Present with multifocal or, less frequently, solitary red or violaceous plaques or nodules

Sites of Involvement

Skin
- Most commonly on the trunk and arms

Morphologic Features

Dense dermal infiltrate composed of:
- Small lymphocytes
- Plasma cells
  - Located at periphery of lymphoid infiltrates or in subepidermal compartment
  - Heavy chain immunophenotype show different morphologies:
    - Non-class-switched forms
      - Sheets of B-lymphocytes and few T-lymphocytes
      - Scattered plasma cells
    - Class-switched forms
      - Large number of reactive T-lymphocytes but can occasionally be obscured by the neoplastic B cells
      - Peripherally clustered monotypic plasma cells
- Follicles with reactive germinal centers (most cases)
- clusters of plasmacytoid dendritic cells at periphery of infiltrates

Immunophenotype

Neoplastic B cells have the following immunophenotype:

Finding	Marker
Positive	BCL2
Negative	CD5
Negative	CD10
Negative	BCL6
Negative	Cyclin D1

The reactive germinal centers B cells are BCL6 positive and BCL2 negative.
CD123 positive plasmacytoid dendritic cells.
Plasma cells have monotypic expression of immunoglobulin light chains often. Heavy chain class-switched form IgG, IgA, or IgE and have no expression of CXCR3. If non-class-switched forms are present, IgM and CXCR3 are expressed.
- Approximately 90% of cases have IgG, IgA, or IgE positivity
- Approximately 10% of cases have IgM positivity
IgG4 expressed by plasma cells in 13-35% of cases, though not related to IgG4-related disease.

Chromosomal Rearrangements (Gene Fusions)

Heavy and light chain immunoglobulin gene clonal rearrangements

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Chromosomal Rearrangement	Genes in Fusion (5’ or 3’ Segments)	Pathogenic Derivative	Prevalence	Diagnostic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Prognostic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Therapeutic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Notes
EXAMPLE t(9;22)(q34;q11.2)	EXAMPLE 3'ABL1 / 5'BCR	EXAMPLE der(22)	EXAMPLE 20% (COSMIC) EXAMPLE 30% (add reference)	Yes	No	Yes	EXAMPLE The t(9;22) is diagnostic of CML in the appropriate morphology and clinical context (add reference). This fusion is responsive to targeted therapy such as Imatinib (Gleevec) (add reference).

Individual Region Genomic Gain / Loss / LOH

None

Put your text here and fill in the table (Instructions: Includes aberrations not involving gene fusions. Can include references in the table. Can refer to CGC workgroup tables as linked on the homepage if applicable.)

Chr #	Gain / Loss / Amp / LOH	Minimal Region Genomic Coordinates [Genome Build]	Minimal Region Cytoband	Diagnostic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Prognostic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Therapeutic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Notes
EXAMPLE 7	EXAMPLE Loss	EXAMPLE chr7:1- 159,335,973 [hg38]	EXAMPLE chr7	Yes	Yes	No	EXAMPLE Presence of monosomy 7 (or 7q deletion) is sufficient for a diagnosis of AML with MDS-related changes when there is ≥20% blasts and no prior therapy (add reference). Monosomy 7/7q deletion is associated with a poor prognosis in AML (add reference).
EXAMPLE 8	EXAMPLE Gain	EXAMPLE chr8:1-145,138,636 [hg38]	EXAMPLE chr8	No	No	No	EXAMPLE Common recurrent secondary finding for t(8;21) (add reference).

Characteristic Chromosomal Patterns

None

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Chromosomal Pattern	Diagnostic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Prognostic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Therapeutic Significance (Yes, No or Unknown)	Notes
EXAMPLE Co-deletion of 1p and 18q	Yes	No	No	EXAMPLE: See chromosomal rearrangements table as this pattern is due to an unbalanced derivative translocation associated with oligodendroglioma (add reference).

Gene Mutations (SNV / INDEL)

Put your text here and fill in the table (Instructions: This table is not meant to be an exhaustive list; please include only genes/alterations that are recurrent and common as well either disease defining and/or clinically significant. Can include references in the table. For clinical significance, denote associations with FDA-approved therapy (not an extensive list of applicable drugs) and NCCN or other national guidelines if applicable; Can also refer to CGC workgroup tables as linked on the homepage if applicable as well as any high impact papers or reviews of gene mutations in this entity.)

Gene; Genetic Alteration	Presumed Mechanism (Tumor Suppressor Gene [TSG] / Oncogene / Other)	Prevalence (COSMIC / TCGA / Other)	Notes
FAS (CD95) gene mutation	Apoptosis regulator	>60% of cases	Suggests that apoptosis defect underlies the pathogenesis of PCMZL
SLAMF1 somatic mutation
SPEN somatic mutation
NCOR2 somatic mutation

Note: A more extensive list of mutations can be found in cBioportal (https://www.cbioportal.org/), COSMIC (https://cancer.sanger.ac.uk/cosmic), ICGC (https://dcc.icgc.org/) and/or other databases. When applicable, gene-specific pages within the CCGA site directly link to pertinent external content.

Epigenomic Alterations

None

Genes and Main Pathways Involved

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Gene; Genetic Alteration	Pathway	Pathophysiologic Outcome
EXAMPLE: BRAF and MAP2K1; Activating mutations	EXAMPLE: MAPK signaling	EXAMPLE: Increased cell growth and proliferation
EXAMPLE: CDKN2A; Inactivating mutations	EXAMPLE: Cell cycle regulation	EXAMPLE: Unregulated cell division
EXAMPLE: KMT2C and ARID1A; Inactivating mutations	EXAMPLE: Histone modification, chromatin remodeling	EXAMPLE: Abnormal gene expression program

Genetic Diagnostic Testing Methods

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Familial Forms

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Additional Information

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Links

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References

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EXAMPLE Book

Arber DA, et al., (2017). Acute myeloid leukaemia with recurrent genetic abnormalities, in World Health Organization Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues, Revised 4th edition. Swerdlow SH, Campo E, Harris NL, Jaffe ES, Pileri SA, Stein H, Thiele J, Arber DA, Hasserjian RP, Le Beau MM, Orazi A, and Siebert R, Editors. IARC Press: Lyon, France, p129-171.

Notes

*Primary authors will typically be those that initially create and complete the content of a page. If a subsequent user modifies the content and feels the effort put forth is of high enough significance to warrant listing in the authorship section, please contact the CCGA coordinators (contact information provided on the homepage). Additional global feedback or concerns are also welcome. *Citation of this Page: “Primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma”. Compendium of Cancer Genome Aberrations (CCGA), Cancer Genomics Consortium (CGC), updated 05/6/2024, https://ccga.io/index.php/HAEM5:Primary_cutaneous_marginal_zone_lymphoma.