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Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting with isolated cauda equina compression
The Quarterly Journal of Medicine
|December 1, 1987
Summary
This case highlights that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma can present as an isolated spinal tumor, causing cauda equina compression. This rare presentation emphasizes its importance in the differential diagnosis of spinal cord compression.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Pathology
Background:
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) rarely involves the central nervous system (CNS).
- CNS involvement typically occurs late in widely disseminated disease.
- Cauda equina compression presents with neurological deficits.
Observation:
- A 50-year-old man presented with progressive cauda equina compression symptoms.
- Imaging revealed an extradural lesion.
- Biopsy confirmed small cell lymphocyte type non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Findings:
- The patient had an isolated extradural non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
- No evidence of lymphoma elsewhere in the body was found.
- This represents an unusual presentation of NHL.
Implications:
- Isolated spinal NHL can be the primary manifestation of the disease.
- Primary extradural NHL should be considered in spinal cord and root compression differential diagnoses.
- This case expands the understanding of NHL's neurological presentations.