Large-cell lymphoma presenting with a distinctive inflammatory dermatosis

Severe, progressively enlarging inflammatory plaques of the upper trunk and neck developed in a 12-year-old girl. Histologic examination revealed a unique inflammatory cell infiltrate that consisted of chronic inflammation in the dermis subtending spongiosis with a diffuse neutrophilic epidermal infiltrate. A tumor in the right axilla was found by computed tomography. Tissue obtained at open biopsy examination demonstrated a large-cell lymphoma of B-cell origin. The tumor and dermatosis responded dramatically to chemotherapy. The distinctive histologic pattern and clinical course suggest that this dermatosis may represent an unusual paraneoplastic presentation of large-cell lymphoma.