Burkitt lymphoma (small non-cleaved cell lymphoma)
Chapter: 20b
High grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma with a rapid doubling time. Histologic hallmark is the presence of sheets of blasts with cytoplasmic vacuoles and the presence of a "starry sky" appearance. The morphologic appearance is similar to the FAB subtype L3 of ALL. The characteristic chromosomal abnormality t(8,14) involving the c-myc gene is present in 80% of cases. Endemic African Burkitt lymphoma usually presents with a jaw or abdominal mass in children, and has EBV genome detectable in 95% of cases. In the United States, sporadic Burkitt lymphoma usually presents as an abdominal mass, and is associated with EBV in 15% of cases. Burkitt and Burkitt-like lymphoma is the most common type of lymphoma seen in the Aids population.