Case of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma Arising at Site of Remote Herpes Encephalitis
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Updated: Feb 15, 2026
Culturing Microglia from the Neonatal and Adult Central Nervous System
Published on: August 9, 2013
Victor Li1, Adrian B Levine2, Peter A Gooderham3
1Department of Radiology, Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), Jim Pattison Pavilion, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Background:
Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare malignancy that usually arises in the context of severe immunosuppression but has incompletely understood etiology, limiting effective treatments.
Case Description:
We present the case of an 81-year-old immunocompetent man who developed a PCNSL in the right temporal lobe, at the site of a remote episode of herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis 8 years prior. There are numerous viruses with known oncogenic associations; however, to our knowledge, this is the first reported case of PCNSL with an antecedent HSV infection.
Conclusions:
We discuss this case in the context of our current understandings of the pathogenesis of HSV encephalitis and PCNSL and postulate mechanisms through which the 2 could be associated.
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