Case report of precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma presenting as syncope and cardiac mass in a...

We report the case of a previously healthy, 10-year-old boy who presented to the emergency department with a syncopal episode. In the emergency department, the patient was diagnosed with a right atrial mass, later identified as a precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL). Most causes of syncope in children are not life threatening. In most cases, it indicates a predisposition to vasovagal episodes. Lymphomas account for approximately 7% of malignancies among children younger than 20 years, are more common in white males and immunocompromised patients, and are predominantly tumors of T-cell origin. Children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma usually present with extranodal disease, most frequently involving the abdomen (31%), mediastinum (26%), or head and neck (29%). Our patient was unique in that he was a nonimmunocompromised, black boy, presenting with syncope in the setting of a large atrial mass identified as a precursor B-cell LL. To our knowledge, there are no reported cases of precursor B-cell LL presenting as syncope and a cardiac mass.