Enteropathy-Associated Non-HodgkinT-Lymphoma as a Complication of Late Diagnosis of Celiac Disease in a Geriatric Patient

Abstract

Summary

Enteropathy-associated non-Hodgkin T-lymphoma (EATL) is a tumor of intraepithelial T-lymphocytes of the small intestine with heterogeneous morphologic and clinical picture dependent on the degree of malignant transformation of the cells. This disease is presented as a malabsorption of mostly čeliac origin which is supposed to be a precancerosis of this tumorous condition. The risk factors of the malignant complication development in patients with čeliac are the gluten exposure time, čeliac diagnosed in older patients and čeliac refractory to the treatment. It is a serious disease with poor prognosis and high mortality. The authors present the clinical case of a patient who was diagnosed with čeliac late and at a high age, complicated by the occurrence of EATL. This paper aims to point out the significance of čeliac as precancerosis in patients of intermediate and older age and the alarming situation in čeliac epidemiology related to the distinctive underdiagnosis of this disease in the population.