Scholarlink

Background <p>Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCLs) are a rare subset of malignancies, representing a very small percentage of reported cancer patients. Even among primary cardiac tumors a diagnosis of lymphoma is rare, making a standard of care difficult to establish.</p> Case presentation <p>Here we report the case of a patient who presented with chest pain and dyspnea who was initially diagnosed with pericarditis. Further imaging revealed a large obstructive right atrial mass with pathologic diagnosis of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. The patient was initiated on multiagent chemotherapy with daEPOCH-R comprising etoposide, prednisone, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and rituximab with subsequent improvement in heart failure symptoms and tumor markers. Doxorubicin was added upon normalization of ejection fraction. The patient developed central nervous system relapse three months after completion of chemotherapy.</p> Conclusions <p>This case describes the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of a patient with primary cardiac lymphoma. In contrast to other cardiac tumors, most patients with PCLs are treated with chemotherapy alone. Despite this, mortality remains high. When aggressive tumor biology is present, rapid initiation of high intensity chemotherapy is feasible. Our patient showed rapid clinical improvement and resolution of his cardiac mass in response to the daEPOCH-R regimen. This case illustrates the value of a multidisciplinary approach to establish a rare diagnosis and initiate prompt treatment for an unstable patient.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Chemotherapy-responsive primary cardiac lymphoma presenting as pericarditis and acute heart failure

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月18日

查看全文
  • Meghan Schilthuis,
  • Benjamin Fischer,
  • Shanelle De Lancy,
  • Ryan Stohler,
  • Utpal P. Davé

摘要

Background

Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCLs) are a rare subset of malignancies, representing a very small percentage of reported cancer patients. Even among primary cardiac tumors a diagnosis of lymphoma is rare, making a standard of care difficult to establish.

Case presentation

Here we report the case of a patient who presented with chest pain and dyspnea who was initially diagnosed with pericarditis. Further imaging revealed a large obstructive right atrial mass with pathologic diagnosis of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. The patient was initiated on multiagent chemotherapy with daEPOCH-R comprising etoposide, prednisone, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and rituximab with subsequent improvement in heart failure symptoms and tumor markers. Doxorubicin was added upon normalization of ejection fraction. The patient developed central nervous system relapse three months after completion of chemotherapy.

Conclusions

This case describes the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of a patient with primary cardiac lymphoma. In contrast to other cardiac tumors, most patients with PCLs are treated with chemotherapy alone. Despite this, mortality remains high. When aggressive tumor biology is present, rapid initiation of high intensity chemotherapy is feasible. Our patient showed rapid clinical improvement and resolution of his cardiac mass in response to the daEPOCH-R regimen. This case illustrates the value of a multidisciplinary approach to establish a rare diagnosis and initiate prompt treatment for an unstable patient.