Primary Lymphoma of the Spleen: A case report

ABSTRACT

Primary lymphoma of the spleen is a relatively rare disease entity and is usually defined, although it is still controversial and hard to define, as the lymphoma which involved primarily the spleen and splenic hilar lymph nodes without involvement in any other site, particularly in the liver and in the mesenteric or para-aortic lymph nodes. In laparotomy of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, splenic involvements are found in 30 to 50% of patients as part of a diffuse pattern of the disease, but primary lymphoma of the spleen accounts for less than 1 % of all lymphoma cases. And it is often difficult to determine during laparotomy whether splenic involvement with lymphoma is primary or the result of a spread from another site. We herein report on a case of primary lymphoma of the spleen which was detected incidentally during evaluation of the cause of right upper quadrant abdominal pain. During the operation, a splenic tumor was found without the evidence of involvement in other sites, and it was confirmed pathologically to be a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the spleen. She lives well now without evidence of recurrence 14 months after the operation.