Cryobiopsy for pneumonia secondary to adult T-cell lymphoma/leukaemia.

A 79-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with a 1-week history of progressively worsening dyspnoea on exertion. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed bilateral consolidation. On laboratory findings, the line blot assay for human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 was positive, the white blood cell count was 33,000/μl (atypical lymphocytes 8500/μl, 26% of the total white blood cell count) and β-d-glucan was increased to 391.1 pg/ml. In bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, there was a small number of atypical lymphocytes, and the polymerase chain reaction for was positive. Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim and corticosteroid were administered, but the lung shadows remained. Adult T-cell lymphoma/leukaemia (ATLL) cell infiltration was suspected, and transbronchial lung cryobiopsy was performed, which showed no infiltration of lymphoma cells into the lung. The lung shadow showed an improving trend on chest CT. She was diagnosed with chronic type ATLL and discharged without chemotherapy.