Lymphoid neoplasms with plasmablastic differentiation
Lymphoid neoplasms with plasmablastic differentiation are a small group of rare B-cell cancers identified by the World Health Organization in 2017. In these diseases, the cancer cells are B-cells that have changed into plasmablasts, the immature form of antibody-producing plasma cells.
Normally, B-cells take up foreign substances, move to germinal centers in the spleen and lymph nodes, and with help from T-cells turn into plasmablasts and then mature plasma cells. Plasmablasts and plasma cells make antibodies to help fight infections. In these cancers, however, the plasmablasts do not mature or produce antibodies. Instead, they grow uncontrollably and can damage tissues and organs.
These lymphomas are diverse in how they look, behave, and what genes they carry, which makes diagnosis difficult but very important because their prognosis and treatment can differ.
Most of these cancers are associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection of the malignant plasmablastic cells. An exception is HHV-8-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (DLBCL, NOS).
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:24 (CET).