[Upper digestive tract bleeding as a clinical presentation of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a group of malignant tumors of the nodal and extranodal lymphoid tissues, and it is associated with autoimmune diseases, mainly rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Extra nodal presentation is observed in 40%, mainly affecting the gastrointestinal tract in 3% of cases, with bleeding in the digestive tract being a rare cause of clinical presentation that requires a detailed diagnostic approach.

55-year-old female with a history of RA, admitted to an internal medicine service due to bleeding in the digestive tract; patient presented clinical data of deep vein thrombosis in the left pelvic limb and consumptive syndrome under study. During her approach she was identified with splenic and liver infarctions, as well as multiple lymph node conglomerates, due to which it was performed an axillary lymph node biopsy reporting neoplastic proliferation of lymphoid cells, and bone marrow aspirate with presence of lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, with which a diagnosis of stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma was made. Patient was sent to a third-level hospital to start treatment.

This case shows us what has already been described in literature, which is why it is of fundamental importance to carry out a comprehensive approach of clinical findings in patients with previously identified risk factors, with the aim of achieving an etiological diagnosis that allows early therapy to improve their survival.