We report a fatal primary cardiac non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a 62 years old
immunocompetent woman presenting with tamponade and complete atrioventricul
ar block. CT-scan, echocardiography and autopsy examination showed a tumor
largely infiltrating the heart without extracardiac involvement. A surgical
biopsy revealed high grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with a misleading
myelomonocytic CD68 (KP1) expression. Polymerase Chain Reaction analysis r
evealed a clonal rearrangement of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene and c
onfirmed the B-cell origin of the lymphoma. Our report also emphasizes the
role of immunohistochemical and molecular techniques in the diagnosis.