[Non-Hodgkin lymphoma with infiltration of the optic nerve (author's transl)]

Infiltration of the optic nerve is very rarely found in any form of malignant lymphoma. We report on a 24-year-old male patient suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the stomach. While recovering after treatment of the primary tumor by chemotherapy he developed papilledema in both eyes and almost total loss of vision. Radiotherapy resulted in restitution of vision within a few days. Later there was a transient acute detachment of pigment epithelium. Malignant cells in the CSF could not be detected until three months after the onset of ophthalmological symptoms. Histopathological sections revealed meningeosis sarcomatosa with infiltrations into the optic chiasm, tracts and nerves.