Primary malignant lymphoma in a spinal cord presenting as an epidural mass with myelopathy: a case report

We report the case of a 47-year-old man who presented with progressive paraparesis and sphincter changes over 2 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a spinal epidural mass from T9 to L2. We performed a decompressive laminectomy and mass removal. The histopathology was consistent with a small lymphocytic lymphoma. No metastatic lesion was noted in the chest and abdomen-pelvic computerized tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography computerized tomography (PET-CT) scan. The final diagnosis was primary spinal lymphoma, so we performed chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy. At one year follow-up, he had no neurological deficit and no recurrence on neurologic and radiologic exams. Primary spinal cord lymphomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of spinal cord tumors. Early surgical management is mandatory to achieve a recovery of neurologic function, especially if the patient has a neurological deficit.