Starry-sky pattern
Contents
Starry-sky pattern is seen on bone marrow, lymph node and extranodal masses sections
[A] Hodgkin lymphoma
[B] Hairy cell leukemia
[C] Burkitt lymphoma
[D] Astrocytomas
- Characteristic starry-sky pattern with sheets of monomorphic neoplastic lymphoid cells and interspersed histiocytes (arrows) in anal Burkitt’s lymphoma.
- The tumor cells have round nuclei with dense chromatin and multiple small nucleoli.
- Note also apoptotic figures (arrowheads).
Starry-sky pattern – Cases other than Burkitt lymphoma
“starry-sky” pattern is a characteristic feature almost exclusively observed in hematolymphoid neoplasms, particularly in Burkitt lymphoma
However, it has also been observed in other lymphoma subtypes, including DLBCL – [double-expressor diffuse large B-cell lymphoma].
Aggressive clinicopathologic features in double-expressor diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
- c-MYC overexpression
- aberrant CD5 expression
- adverse survival in double expressor lymphoma
What is Double expressor lymphoma?
Double expressor lymphoma (DEL) is a high-risk subtype of DLBCL characterized by the overexpression of the c-MYC and BCL2 proteins without underlying gene rearrangement
