Primary vaginal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: report of a rare clinical entity

A 52-year-old woman was referred to the gynecology outpatient clinic with a 2 months history of vaginal bleeding with intercourse, and no other symptoms. Vaginal examination revealed a firm, non-tender, mass in the posterior vaginal wall. The initial clinical impression was that of a vaginal carcinoma and a biopsy under local anesthesia was performed, but the result was inconclusive. A deeper biopsy, under general anesthesia, was performed and a histological diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was done. The staging workup permitted to exclude any other site of the body affected by the malignancy. Hematologists reviewed the patient and recommended chemotherapy. A complete tumor regression was observed and the patient has now a disease-free survival of 72 months. This case report intends to create awareness of this rare clinical entity. Although the gynecologist will rarely be faced to extranodal lymphoma, it should be included in the differential diagnosis of gynecologic malignancies