CD8-positive Indolent T-Cell Lymphoproliferative Disorder of the Gastrointestinal Tract: Case Report and Literature Review

Indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder of the gastrointestinal tract (ITLPD-GI), a primary tumor forming in the GI tract, represents a rarely diagnosed clonal T-cell disease with a protracted clinical course. This report presents a 45-year-old male patient with a 6-year history of anal fistula and a more than 10-year history of recurrent diarrhea, who was not rightly diagnosed until the occurrence of complications such as intestinal perforation. Postsurgical histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of CD8+ ITLPD-GI, with a combination of hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E) staining, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and TCRβ/γ clonal gene rearrangement. Individuals with this scarce lymphoma frequently show non-specific symptoms, which are hardly recognized. So far, indolent CD8+ ITLPD-GI has not been comprehensively examined. The current mini-review focused on available reports evaluating indolent CD8+ ITLPD-GI cases, discussing future directions for improved differential diagnosis, genetic and epigenetic alterations, and therapeutic target identification.