PRIMARY CARDIAC LYMPHOMA TREATED WITH ORTHOTOPIC HEART-TRANSPLANTATION - A CASE-REPORT

Primary lymphoma of the heart is an extremely rare tumor. It is associ ated with a high mortality rate because of the advanced stage of myoca rdial involvement at initial presentation. Conventional surgical and m edical treatments have not met with much success. This article reports the first case of primary cardiac lymphoma treated with orthotopic he art transplantation. The patient had hemodynamically significant sever e acute rejection, neutropenic sepsis, and tumor recurrence during the late postoperative period, illustrating the difficulties associated w ith concomitant immunosuppression and tumor chemotherapy. Unfortunatel y, the patient died after a period of remission. Our approach to the i ntegration of immunosuppression with chemotherapy, posttransplantation follow-up, and complications is discussed.