[Clinical aspects and pathogenesis of neurological complications due to malignant lymphomas]

Malignant lymphomas cause various neurological complications by several ways. They include 1) infiltration and compression due to lymphoma itself, 2) ischemia due to intravascular proliferation of lymphoma cells, 3) paraneoplastic syndrome, 4) immunodeficiency due to lymphomas, 5) organ dysfunction due to lymphomatous infiltration, and 6) complication related to therapies against lymphomas. We presented 4 patients with neurological complications caused by B cell lymphomas as follows. Our first patient was a 67-year-old woman with primary intracranial lymphoma whose onset simulated that of a cerebral infarct. The second patient was a 52-year-old man with lymphoma, who developed myelopathy caused by an intradural extramedullary spinal cord tumor. He received chemotherapy and radiation therapy, followed by complete remission. The third was a 80-year-old man with left cavernous sinus syndrome, which did not respond to therapies against lymphoma. The fourth was a 55-year-old man who presented with numb chin syndrome on both sides, followed by multifocal lymphomatous involvement of the cranial nerves, spinal roots and leptomeninges. Malignant lymphomas may affect any regions of the central and peripheral nervous systems by various ways. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential for the better outcome of neurological complications due to lymphomas.