Radiation therapy in lymphomatoid granulomatosis

A 59-year-old woman with lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) involving the lungs and skin is reported. This patient had many large, ulcerated cutaneous lesions that progressed during prednisone and cyclophosphamide therapy. However, the cutaneous disease responded to radiation treatment in terms of relief of symptoms and objective evidence of subsidence of local disease. The patient died of an unrelated cause 2 years after the establishment of the diagnosis of LYG. At autopsy, the skin lesions were completely healed, with no residual disease. However, there was evidence of the progression of LYG into a malignant large cell lymphoma involving the liver and lung. A discussion of the nature of LYG and the role of radiotherapy in localized disease is presented.