Primary intramedullary spinal cord non-Hodgkin lymphoma: Case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Introduction: Primary intramedullary spinal cord lymphomas are extremely rare, occurring mainly in immune compromised patients. Case report: We report a case of a 43 years old patient admitted with spinal cord compression. Spinal MRI revealed two thoracic intramedullary tumours. The patients underwent surgery and we performed resection of both primary intramedullary tumours, with favourable neurological outcome. The histopathologic exam was non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The patient underwent adjuvant radiotherapy. Two months later the patient presented thoracic and cerebellar drop metastases, confirmed histopathologically. Conclusions: The diagnosis of primary intramedullary spinal lymphoma must be kept in mind in patients with myelopathy. Surgery is needed to provide histopathological samples for positive diagnosis and spinal decompression. Primary intramedullary spinal lymphomas have a propensity to disseminate along the neuraxis.