[Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma simulating chorioretinitis]

Lymphoma affecting the eye is a special form of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which was formerly described as reticulum cell sarcoma and is now mostly identified as highly malignant lymphoma. The clinical findings include posterior uveitis with dense opacities of the vitreous body. We present two female patients with minor opacities of the vitreous body, thus permitting funduscopic inspection and leading to the diagnosis of chorioretinitis. Fundus examination of the first patient revealed confluent infiltrates in both eyes. She developed progressive neurological symptoms within 10 weeks and died of respiratory insufficiency. All parenchymatous organs and the central and peripheral nervous system showed multifocal infiltration with cells deriving from a malignant T-cell lymphoma. The second patient presented with subretinal infiltration surrounding the right optic nerve head. Over the following weeks the infiltrations first spread towards the temporal fundus and then disappeared spontaneously, forming scars with atrophy of the pigment epithelium.