[Primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the liver: case report and review of the literature]

Purpose was to describe the clinical, radiological and therapeutic features in primary liver lymphoma. We report the case of a 54-year-old patient, who is followed since the age of 20 years for neutropenia associated with mediastinal adenopathy. Systematical ultrasound find a mass of the left liver confirmed by Computed tomography (CT). Histological examination of laparoscopic liver biopsy specimens confirmed diffuse large-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The disease was confined to the liver without any evidence of extrahepatic involvement. The serology of Epstein Barr virus was highly positive. PET-scan show increased FDG uptake at the site of hepatic lesion and the mediastin. The patient received chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy of the left liver at the dose of 31 Gy. The patient was alive and free of disease 20 months after the diagnosis of primary liver lymphoma. The primary hepatic lymphoma is a rare malignancy, which classically affects 50-year-old patients with a male preponderance. The incidence is increased in immunosuppressed patients and some authors have suggested an association with hepatitis B or C infection, and with the Epstein Barr virus. The imaging studies including ultrasound, CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and now PET-scan help to establish the diagnosis and to the following. Treatment options are surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination.