Key result
Autopsy of ADHF patient reveals undiagnosed primary cardiac DLBCL involving all four chambers.
Case Report (n=1)
No
Primary cardiac lymphoma is a rare, highly malignant neoplasm that can present with variable clinical manifestations and may be misdiagnosed, as demonstrated by this autopsy case of an immunocompetent 72-year-old man.
Consider occult cardiac lymphoma in unexplained decompensated HF; case reports leave open optimal antemortem detection strategies.
Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL), defined as extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma involving exclusively the heart and∕or pericardium, is a neoplasm with an extremely low incidence, a high degree of malignancy, and a poor prognosis. It comprises 0.5% of all extranodal lymphomas and 1-2% of all primary cardiac tumors, while the most commonly reported subtype is diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The tumor is more common in immunocompromised patients compared with those who are immunocompetent. Modern imaging methods now allow for earlier detection of these tumors, despite their variable clinical manifestation, which is often a cause of misdiagnosis. We present an autopsy case of undiagnosed PCL in an immunocompetent 72-year-old man, where postmortem examination revealed massive tumor infiltration of the right-sided heart chambers extending to the left ventricle. Histological analysis showed microscopic tumor infiltration within the left atrium as well. A diagnosis of DLBCL of non-germinal subtype was made based on immunohistochemistry.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Tancoš et al. (2025) conducted a case report in Primary cardiac lymphoma (n=1). Autopsy of a 72-year-old man with acute decompensated heart failure revealed an undiagnosed primary cardiac diffuse large B-cell lymphoma involving all four cardiac chambers.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: