PRIMARY LYMPHOMA OF THE HEART - REPORT OF A CASE WITH HISTOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE TRANSVENOUSLY BIOPSIED INTRACARDIAC TUMOR

Primary cardiac lymphoma is an extremely rare disease and is associate d with a high mortality. In most cases, lymphomatous involvement of th e heart and/or pericardium occurs as a late manifestation of dissemina ted disease. Primary cardiac lymphoma is treatable when appropriately diagnosed. We report the case of an immunocompetent 69-year-old patien t who presented with signs of dyspnea and a transmural mass infiltrati ng the apical section of both ventricles. Examination of the tissue ob tained by transvenous biopsy revealed high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphom a of B-cell lineage. The patient was treated successfully with CHOP ch emotherapy. This case demonstrates that early diagnosis and intensive chemotherapy might contribute to a better prognosis for patients with malignant lymphoma of the heart.