Primary cardiac lymphoma with unusual presentation: A report of two cases

Our plain-English summary of Primary cardiac lymphoma with unusual presentation: A report of two cases, by C.F. Chen, P.P. Hsieh, S.J. Lin (Molecular and Clinical Oncology, 2017).

The study

• Authors: C.F. Chen, P.P. Hsieh, S.J. Lin
• Journal: Molecular and Clinical Oncology
• Published: 2017;6(3):311-314
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Primary cardiac tumors are rare, with an incidence of 0.056% according to autopsy reports. The most common type is myxoma, while other types, including sarcoma, lipoma, papillary fibroelastoma, rhabdomyoma, fibroma, hemangioma, teratoma, lymphoma and mesothelioma also occur. Primary cardiac tumors usually cause embolization, pericardial effusion and arrhythmia, leading to heart failure. Only 10% of primary cardiac tumors are malignant, approximately 95% of which are sarcomas, while the remaining 5% are cardiac lymphomas and mesotheliomas. The present study reported a case of primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) with bilateral renal involvement and a case of PCL with bilateral adrenal gland involvement. The prognosis of PCL is poor due to the low rate of early detection and treatment. The definitive diagnosis is dependent on pathology, and timely treatment with chemotherapy can be effective. The two cases developed life-threatening arrhythmia and responded to the initial chemotherapy. In the first case, complete remission was achieved after finalization of therapy. However, the second case refused further chemotherapy and succumbed to his condition after two months.

In plain English

This article reported two cases of primary cardiac lymphoma, a non-Hodgkin lymphoma found in the heart, seen at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan. It did not study asbestos or any other exposure; mesothelioma appeared only in background statements. The first patient, a 46-year-old Taiwanese man, had tumors in the right atrium of the heart, the pericardium and both kidneys, and collapsed with ventricular fibrillation in hospital. A biopsy showed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. After chemotherapy, CT scans showed complete remission in the heart and kidneys. The patient stayed free of lymphoma for 3 years before lymphoma was found in the brain, and further treatment brought almost complete remission. The second patient, a 58-year-old Taiwanese man, had tumors in the heart and both adrenal glands and episodes of sustained ventricular tachycardia. An adrenal biopsy confirmed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. One cycle of chemotherapy partly shrank the tumors, but the patient refused further treatment and died of ventricular tachycardia 2 months after diagnosis. The authors concluded that timely and appropriate treatment can be beneficial.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (two cases)
• Who was studied: Two Taiwanese men, aged 46 and 58, with primary cardiac lymphoma, treated at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan
• Exposure: No asbestos or other exposure was studied. The article concerns diagnosis and chemotherapy of cardiac lymphoma.
• Main results:
  • Case 1 (46-year-old man): CT showed tumors involving the right atrium, pericardium, the area beside the aorta, and both kidneys
  • Case 1: the patient collapsed with ventricular fibrillation during the hospital stay
  • Case 1: after chemotherapy, CT showed complete remission in the heart and kidneys, and the patient remained free of lymphoma for 3 years
  • Case 1: lymphoma later spread to the brain, and after further treatment the patient had almost complete remission
  • Case 2 (58-year-old man): tumors involved the heart and both adrenal glands, and an adrenal biopsy confirmed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
  • Case 2: after one cycle of chemotherapy, CT showed partial shrinkage of the heart and adrenal lymphoma
  • Case 2: the patient refused further treatment and died of ventricular tachycardia 2 months after diagnosis
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that although primary cardiac lymphoma carries a poor prognosis and life-threatening complications, timely and appropriate treatment can be beneficial.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Autopsy, Sarcoma, Mesothelioma, Pericardial Effusion, Bilateral, Prognosis, Pathology, Chemotherapy.

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