Mantle cell lymphoma – classic morphology

Bone marrow involvement is present in most cases of mantle cell lymphoma. This bone marrow smear shows a massive infiltration by neoplastic lymphocytes resembling centrocytes. The cells are medium-sized with a high nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio and a small amount of slightly basophilic cytoplasm. The shape of the nucleus is variable, mostly irregular and indented. Nuclear chromatin is less condensed and some small nucleoli are visible (red arrows). The presence of buttock cells (blue arrows) is a typical finding in the classic morphological variant of mantle cell lymphoma.