Abstract
Objective Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a type of non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma associated
with human immunodeficiency virus and Epstein–Barr virus, commonly located in the
oral cavity or gastrointestinal tract. Sinonasal involvement is rare, and there is
no consensus on treatment.
Data Sources Peer-reviewed published articles served as data sources.
Review Methods A systematic review was conducted of the PubMed database for all cases of sinonasal
PBL between 1978 and 2023 with the phrase “plasmablastic lymphoma.” Studies not written
in English and that did not separate individual cases of sinonasal PBL from aggregated
data were excluded. Age, sex, immune status, treatment, and outcomes were collected.
Conclusion PBL is a rare malignancy in the sinonasal region usually treated with chemotherapy.
It most commonly occurs in immunocompromised adults but has also been diagnosed in
immunocompromised children and in immunocompetent adults. It is aggressive and has
a poor prognosis.
Implications for Practice PBL is a recently described entity with few cases of the sinonasal anatomic variant
in the literature. Sinonasal PBL was most frequently treated with chemotherapy alone,
closely followed by chemoradiation. The most common chemotherapy regimen utilized
in the literature is cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, oncovin/vincristine, and prednisone,
which is also the most common chemotherapy regimen in nonsinonasal PBL. A second commonly
used regimen is cyclophosphamide, vincristine/oncovin, doxorubicin/adriamycin, and
dexamethasone. However, no treatment has emerged as superior to others with regard
to survival. Further data are needed to better understand this rare disease.
Keywords
plasmablastic lymphoma - sinonasal lymphoma - non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - diffuse large
B-cell lymphoma - sinonasal neoplasm
