METHODS: We herein describe two AITL cases characterized by a fatal clinical course and the occurrence of unusual paraneoplastic phenomena, including fluid retention and disseminated intravascular coagulation, respectively. Despite multiple diagnostic procedures, both patients died of rapid disease progression and definitive diagnoses could only be established post-mortem.
CONCLUSIONS: These cases underscore the complex diagnostic challenges of AITL and illustrate the requirement for careful clinical evaluation and prompt integration of different diagnostic parameters, including immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, conventional cytogenetics and molecular genetics, to enable adequate and prompt therapeutic interventions.