[Primary lymphoma of the right atrium: a case report]

Primary cardiac tumor is an extremely rare disease and is associated with a high mortality. The cases described in the literature are recently increased thanks to the employment of the new diagnostic methodologies (computed tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance, transesophageal echocardiography). Particularly the primitive lymphoma, non-HIV correlated, is very rare (< 1.5% of all cardiac tumors), but it is treatable when appropriately diagnosed. We report a case of 52-year-old patient who presented with an infiltrative mass in the right atrium. The examination of the tissue obtained by transvenous intracardiac biopsy with transesophageal echocardiography guidance revealed high grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of B-cell lineage. The patient achieved complete tumor remission after treatment with standard chemotherapy. This case demonstrates that early diagnosis might contribute to a better prognosis for patients with malignant lymphoma of the heart.