Primary renal lymphoma does exist - Case report and review of the literature

Primary renal lymphoma (PRL) is a controversial and rare disease and there is still no agreement on its existence. Many cases have been reported in th e literature, but clear diagnostic criteria have not yet been established. Most of the reported cases are questionable because of incomplete staging o r the presence of extrarenal disease. Here we report a new case and a revie w of the literature based on a critical examination of the diagnostic proce dure. Thus, probably only 29 cases, ours included, should be recognized as PRL, because only these cases fulfil the three diagnostic criteria and unde rwent complete diagnostic screening, including renal biopsy, bone marrow bi opsy and thoraco-abdominal computerised tomography (CT).