[Primary cardiac lymphoma. Report of a case]

Malignant non-Hodgkins lymphomas have a secondary cardiac localisation in 20% of cases. However, a cardiac primary site is rare (44 cases described up to now). A positive diagnosis is rarely made before death. There is great interest in echocardiography, a non-invasive method, to identify these tumours early. The prognosis remains nevertheless gloomy. We report the case of a child aged 8 years, admitted with a scenario of low output right cardiac insufficiency. Chest radiography identified cardiomegaly with a prominent right border, and the electrocardiograph showed right auricular hypertrophy. A tumour mass infiltrating the right atrium, the right ventricle and the lateral face of the left ventricle was discovered on trans-thoracic echocardiography. Investigation for tumour spread was negative. The patient died before operation in a state of extreme low output. The histology favoured a highly malignant non-Hodgkins lymphoma type B.