Unusual Cardiac Infiltration in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

CASE, 2019

Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, 2007

Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCLs) are rare. We present a case of a cardiac B-cell lymphoma arising in an 83-year-old woman with symptoms of progressive shortness of breath. The patient underwent myocardial perfusion imaging and was found to have normal myocardial perfusion but a severely dilated right ventricle and right ventricular hypertrophy on a technetium 99m sestamibi single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study that was suspicious for a cardiac mass. The patient underwent further workup with computed tomography (CT) angiography, transesophageal echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Diffuse B-cell lymphoma was confirmed by an open biopsy.

Echocardiography-a Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound and Allied Techniques, 2012

A 73-year-old woman presented in right heart failure. Computed tomography of the chest revealed a 3 cm × 5 cm anterior mediastinal mass. Contrast-enhanced two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and MRI-PET fusion demonstrated invasion of the pericardium and right heart by the tumor. Mediastinal biopsy revealed high-grade diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which responded to chemotherapy. The role of each modality in this case was discussed in the manuscript. In conclusion, the integration of multiple imaging modalities is extremely useful in the characterization, localization, diagnosis and treatment of an unusual cardiac mass.

Texas Heart Institute journal, 2016

Presenting as a Cardiac Mass A 59-year-old immunocompetent man presented at the emergency department, reporting several days of constant substernal chest pain without recent weight loss, night sweats, or fever. Clinical examination and laboratory results yielded nothing unusual. No adenopathy was identified. An electrocardiogram revealed T-wave inversion in the inferior and anterolateral leads. A chest computed tomogram showed diffuse thickening of the right ventricular (RV) myocardium. No lymphadenopathy or pleural effusion was noted. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) images revealed diffuse RV myocardial hypertrophy (Fig. 1); the maximum RV myocardial thickness was 2 cm during end-diastole. The RV end-diastolic volume was 213 mL (indexed value, 104 mL/m 2), its mass was 210 g (indexed mass, 102 g/m 2), and the ejection fraction was 0.37. The RV myocardium had an intermediate T2 signal and contained no fat. Mild circumferential pericardial effusion was detected. During first-pass perfusion, gadolinium uptake was biventricular (Fig. 2); delayed spin-echo images showed greater gadolinium enhancement in the RV than in the left ventricle (LV) (Fig. 3). The LV interventricular septum was 1.3 cm thick, but the LV otherwise had normal size, systolic function, and mass. Delayedenhancement CMR revealed biventricular diffuse patchy enhancement (Fig. 4). Although we initially suspected biventricular hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the delayed-enhancement pattern suggested an infiltrative process. Coronary angiograms showed no coronary disease. Biopsy specimens of the RV myocardium had a hard consistency; histologic analysis revealed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with myocyte necrosis. The patient underwent 6 cycles of chemotherapy with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone, and remained in remission 2 years after diagnosis. Comment Diffuse large B-cell cardiac lymphoma (typically non-Hodgkin) accounts for only 1% of primary cardiac tumors. 1 Primary cardiac lymphoma should be suspected when

2013

Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) is an uncommon aggressive subset of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Although PMBCL frequently spreads locally from the thymus into the pleura or pericardium, it rarely invades directly through the heart. Herein, we report a case of a young Mexican female diagnosed with PMBCL with clear infiltration of lymphoma through the cardiac wall and into the right atrium and tricuspid valve leading to tricuspid regurgitation. This was demonstrated by cardiac MRI and transthoracic echocardiogram. In addition, cardiac MRI and CT scan of the chest revealed the large mediastinal mass completely surrounding and eroding into the superior vena cava (SVC) wall causing a collar of stokes. The cardiac and SVC infiltration created a significant therapeutic challenge as lymphomas are very responsive to chemotherapy, and treatment could potentially lead to vascular wall rupture and hemorrhage. Despite the lack of conclusive data on chemotherapy-induced hemodynamic compromise in such scenarios, her progressive severe SVC syndrome and respiratory distress necessitated urgent intervention. In addition to the unique presentation of this rare lymphoma, our case report highlights the safety of R-CHOP treatment.