INTRAVASCULAR LARGE B-CELL LYMPHOMA: A RARE CAUSE OF STROKE-LIKE EPISODES, COMBINED WITH COGNITIVE DECLINE AND MYELOPATHY

Authors

Marianna Bregianni
Anastasios Bonakis
Chistina Zompola
Periklis Foukas
Matilda Papathanasiou
Efstathios Boviatsis
Georgios Tsivgoulis
Konstantinos Voumvourakis

Keywords:

stroke-like episodes, intravascular lymphoma, brain biopsy, immunohistochemistry

Abstract

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVBCL) is an extremely rare, frequently fatal, extranodal, non-Hodgkin
lymphoma. Diagnostic delay is common, mainly due to the variety of atypical clinical symptoms and signs.
Early intervention improves outcome, although response to chemotherapeutic agents remains poor. We
present a case of IVBCL with rapidly progressive dementia, myelopathy and stroke-like episodes. MRI
showed typical findings of subcortical white matter lesions with restricted diffusion and gadolinium enhancement
and a thoracic spine lesion. Awareness should be raised among clinicians for this extremely
rare, life-threatening clinical entity, because of the potentially treatable clinical outcome in the grounds of
timely diagnosis.