[Intravascular lymphoma confirmed by brain biopsy, quickly treated by chemotherapy: a case report]

A 60-year-old female with intravascular lymphoma (IVL) presented with the complaint of urinary dysfunction and gait disturbance. T2 weighted MR imaging of the thoracic spinal cord showed a hyperintense lesion, and brain MR imaging indicated hyperintense lesions in the deep white matter. Multiple sclerosis was assumed, so steroid pulse therapy was administered. However, her level of consciousness decreased and her paraplegia progressed. Laboratory data showed that anemia and thrombocytopenia had worsened with high serum LDH and soluble IL-2 receptor levels. Biopsy of bone marrow indicated hypercellularity associated with hemophagocytic histiocytes, although no atypical lymphocytes were detected. Brain MR imaging indicated a new subcortical lesion in the left parietal lobe. One and a half months after admission, an open brain biopsy of the left parietal cortex was performed. Histopathological diagnosis was IVL, large B cell type. Immediately, she underwent CHOP therapy containing rituximab (R-CHOP therapy). After chemotherapy, spinal and brain MR images showed no new abnormal lesions. Clinically, it is difficult to make a diagnosis of IVL in life as it has no characteristic symptoms or radiological findings. Therefore, if a patient is suspected of having IVL, a biopsy of different organs, including brain, is necessary for making an early diagnosis and initiating chemotherapy.