Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the femur and humerus: a case report and review of the literature
Lymphoma of bone is a rare neoplasm composed of malignant lymphocytes that produces mass-like lesions in the bone. We report a 13-year-old male with a 1-month history of gradually increasing swelling in the right shoulder and middle of the right thigh. Radiological imaging revealed soft tissue masses in both areas and a lytic destructive lesion associated with a pathological fracture of the right humerus. The patient had no significant medical history. Histological, immunohistochemical and fluorescence in-situ hybridization evaluation of biopsies from the lesions confirmed the diagnosis of primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of bone. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease in 2019, the patient was not available for follow-up treatment and died shortly after the diagnosis was established.
Alex Mremi, Jeremia J Pyuza, Bilal Ahmad, Alice A Andongolile, Adnan Sadiq, James J Yahaya, Karoly Szuhai, Pancras CW Hogendoorn, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the femur and humerus: a case Report and Literature Review, Oxford Medical Case Reports, Volume 2021, Issue 4, April 2021, omab024, https: //doi.org/10.1093/omcr/omab024
Commentary
This case report describes a primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that developed in bone. Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is defined as a malignant lymphoid neoplasm with a 6-month course, no extra-territorial lymph nodes or extralymphatic sites involved, and one or more masses in the bone. Radiologically, it appears to have a wide variety of manifestations and may be associated with essentially normal X-rays with large soft tissue masses on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, this histological diagnosis can be a daunting task, and in-depth immunohistochemical studies are considered essential for a definitive diagnosis.
