Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma With Intraocular or Ocular Adnexal Involvement: A Case Report and Systematic Review

To review the existing literature on patients with anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) affecting the globe and/or ocular adnexa, and to present a report documenting the clinical course of a patient with ALCL that involved their globe and ocular adnexa.PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar were systematically searched for all cases of ALCL involving intraocular or adnexal ocular structures from inception to May 2023. Moreover, a new reported case added to the cases found in searches.The review identified 1680 studies, with 8 meeting inclusion criteria. A total of 9 patients were included with a mean age of 29.7 years (median: 30.0, range: 1.3-48). Primary ALCL was present in 5/9 (55.6%) patients. The most common ophthalmic manifestations included periorbital swelling (5/8), chemosis (5.8), and decreased vision (5/7). Misdiagnoses were initially made in 3 patients, and the lag time to correct diagnosis from 3 weeks to 3 months. CD30 expression was positive in all cases, and 6/9 patients were positive for anaplastic lymphoma kinase, resulting in 6/9 patients being diagnosed with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive ALCL. In terms of management modalities, chemotherapy was administered in 8/9 patients, while radiation therapy was utilized in 4/9 patients, and 2 underwent autologous stem cell transplantation. Five (55.6%) patients succumbed to ALCL while 4 (44.4%) were alive and disease-free at the last follow-up. The median times from the initial presentation of ALCL to death, ophthalmic presentation to death, and diagnosis to death were 4.12 months (range: 1.1-168.0), 2.62 months (range: 1.1-144), and 4.00 months (range: 0.10-168), respectively. The median follow-up duration was 21.0 months (range: 1.1-168.0).ALCL involving the globe and ocular adnexa is a rare and highly malignant tumor that can mimic benign clinical conditions. Early biopsy and aggressive treatment with chemotherapy regimens such as CHOP and radiation therapy may be useful.