Post-transplantation primary central nervous system lymphoma: A case report and review of the literature

Surg Neurol Int. 2011:2:130. doi: 10.4103/2152-7806.85471. Epub 2011 Sep 27.

Abstract

Background: Post-transplantation primary central nervous system lymphoma (PT-PCNSL) is a rare neoplasm that can develop within months to years after transplantation, and imaging often reveals multiple lesions with homogeneous or ring enhancement. The clinical and imaging presentation of PT-PCNSL can often be nonspecific and present a diagnostic challenge.

Case description: A 56-year-old woman presented to a tertiary university emergency room with altered mental status 15 months after undergoing renal transplantation. On brain MRI, she was found to have three rim-enhancing mass lesions, and biopsy revealed PT-PCNSL.

Conclusion: There has been a steady increase in the number of patients living following organ transplantation in the United States and an increasing likelihood that PT-PCNSL will increasingly be encountered in neurosurgical practice. We present here a case of PT-PCNSL and a brief review of the relevant clinical characteristics, treatment options, and prognosis of PT-PCNSL.

Keywords: Primary central nervous system lymphoma; transplantation.