Up the Duff With Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: The Traumas and the Dilemmas

Lymphoma is fourth most frequent malignancy diagnosed prenatally (~1:6000 cases), with Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) forming the major chunk. However, in recent times, there has been an increase in occurrence of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) due to late child bearing age and high incidence of AIDS-related NHL in developing countries. Managing NHL in pregnancy involves intricate medical, ethical and psychological issues. Diagnostic and treatment delays may influence the prognosis for indolent cases. Seen the complexity of the management decisions associated with NHL, interdisciplinary and individualized approach becomes imperative for each woman. We present a case of 25-year-old G2P0010 at 32 weeks Period of Gestation (PoG) with right sided deep cervical lymphadenopathy, who was diagnosed as aggressive malignant NHL and was subsequently started on chemotherapy after confirmation of diagnosis and eventually had an optimal feto-maternal outcome. The critical appraisal of the accessible data, identification of controversies and unresolved issues and proposal of elucidations about varied facets of NHL in pregnancy are also provided.