Intravascular Lymphoma with Progressive CNS Hemorrhage and Multiple Dissections

Intravascular lymphoma (IVL) is an uncommon and often fatal disease characterized by intraluminal proliferation of lymphomatous cells within blood vessels. Because of a heterogeneous clinical presentation and lack of sensitive diagnostic protocols, diagnosis of IVL is most often made at autopsy. However, with early diagnosis and appropriate chemotherapy, the prognosis is greatly improved and complete remission is possible. In order to broaden the possible presentations of IVL, we present a patient with an atypical manifestation of biopsy-proven intravascular large B-cell lymphoma who suffered dissections of both intracranial and extracranial arteries in addition to progressive intracranial hemorrhages. Case Report. A 47-year-old woman presented with unilateral paresthesias. She developed progressive multifocal infarcts and hemorrhage with dissections of both intracranial and extracranial arteries, resulting in coma. Brain biopsy revealed IVL. She received aggressive chemotherapy and remains in complete remission with good neurologic recovery.

IVL is known to exert its pathology on small arteries and capillaries, but is not known to cause dissections of large vessels. The diagnosis should be considered in cases with unexplained arterial dissections and progressive strokes. Early diagnosis with appropriate laboratory screening and tissue confirmation by biopsy can lead to greatly improved outcomes.