Primary Dumbbell-Shaped Lymphoma of the Thoracic Spine:

Copyright © 2012 Antonio Meola et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Primary spinal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is extremely rare, and the occurrence of spinal dumbbell-shaped lymphoma is exceptional. We present a case of primary spinal dumbbell-shaped lymphoma to clarify the diagnosis and the management of these lesions. A 45-year-old man presented with sensory symptoms for 8 months. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic spine demonstrated a dumbbell-shaped lesion at the D4–D6 level with spinal cord compression and right foraminal extension at D4–D5 level. The patient underwent D4–D6 laminectomy, with a subtotal resection of the mass. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was diagnosed in the pathological examination. He underwent local spinal radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Follow-up evaluation at one year demonstrated no evidence of relapse. Although highly unusual, lymphoma should be included in the differential diagnosis for spinal dumbbell-shaped tumours. After surgery and adjuvant therapy a long-term clinical and neuroradiological followup is mandatory. 1