Isolated, primary extranodal Hodgkin's disease of the spine: case report.
OBJECTIVE
To describe an unusual case of isolated, primary spinal Hodgkin's disease to draw attention to this disease as a possible diagnosis in patients with mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate lesions located in the spine.


METHODS
A 54-year-old African American woman presented with back pain and progressive lower-extremity weakness as a result of spinal cord compression from Hodgkin's disease of the thoracic vertebrae.


METHODS
The patient underwent decompressive surgery with stabilization, then was incorrectly treated with antituberculosis medication. When the disease progressed, later investigations revealed Hodgkin's disease, which responded to a course of radiation therapy. An extensive examination failed to detect lymphoma elsewhere.


CONCLUSIONS
Isolated, primary extranodal Hodgkin's disease of the spine is extremely rare. Seven other cases were reported in 1954. Although the Hodgkin's disease in these cases may arise in the bone of the spine, the possibility of origin in the paraspinous soft tissues also cannot be excluded.
Citow
J S
JS
Department of Surgery, University of Chicago Medical Center, Illinois 60637, USA.
Rini
B
B
Wollmann
R
R
Macdonald
R L
RL
D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae