Primary cardiac lymphoma in immunocompetent patients: a report of three cases and review of the literature

Abstract

Primary cardiac lymphoma is an extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma exclusively located in the heart and/or pericardium, extremely rare in immunocompetent patients, and more frequent in immunodepressed patients. We present 3 retrospectives cases of primary cardiac lymphoma in immunocompetent patients and review 35 cases reported in the literature. Two patients were adults and one was a child. Primary cardiac lymphoma presented with constitutional symptoms in two cases and superior vena caval syndrome in one case. Diagnosis of a tumor mass was made in all cases by transthoracic echocardiography. Primary cardiac lymphoma arose in the heart right chambers in two cases. Histological diagnoses, obtained after thoracotomy, were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in two cases, and Burkitt's lymphoma in one case. All three cases received chemotherapy, combined with radiotherapy in one patient. Of our patients, 2 are alive and asymptomatic 12 months and 33 months after diagnosis. In conclusion, diagnosis of primary cardiac lymphoma is difficult due to non-specific clinical manifestations and should be considered in patients with a cardiac mass sometimes with pericardial effusion. It is confirmed using transthoracic echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging and certified using cytology or open biopsy. The only effective treatment is chemotherapy, but prognosis remains poor.