An unusual presentation of EATL type 1: Emergency surgery due to life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding

INTRODUCTIONEnteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) is a very rare malignancy. Reasons for hospital admission are variable.PRESENTATION OF CASE76 years old man admitted to emergency service with sudden and massive obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. There was no complaints in his history. After initial evaluation, emergency laparatomy had to be done. Bleeding lesion in proximal jejunum was resected. Histopathologically, the muscularis propria had abundant atypical lymphoid infiltrate in diffuse pattern. Atypical lymphoid cells expressed CD3 and CD30. The jejunal mucosa adjacent to the tumor showed effacement of normal villous architecture.DISCUSSIONEATL is known to cause anemia as a result of chronic bleeding. However in this case, the bleeding was abundant, irreplaceable and requiring emergency surgery. To our knowledge it is not reported previously.CONCLUSIONA sudden and massive gastrointestinal bleeding can be the first and unique sign of EATL.