[Malignant lymphoma developing from the wall of chronic empyema following artificial pneumothorax]

A 60-year-old man who had had chronic empyema following an artificial pneumothorax for pulmonary tuberculosis when he was 26 years old developed malignant lymphoma of the chest wall. The patient was admitted because of right pyothorax as a result of pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and underwent right thoracotomy. During lavage of the right thoracic cavity a tumor was found arising from the empyematic wall. Pathologic examination revealed that it was malignant lymphoma (diffuse large, immunoblastic, B cell type). Treatment with VEAP-Bleomycin elicited a good response. Seven months after chemotherapy, the patient underwent thoracoplasty in addition to packing the cavity with the latissimus dorsi and the greater omentum. Following this, the patient received chemotherapy once a month for one and a half years, after which he was kept under close observation without treatment. Complete remission has now lasted for 49 months since the initial treatment. This is the first reported lymphoma case with closure of the empyematic wall and is remarkable since this patient has remained in complete remission for the last two years without any treatment.