A space-occupying lesion of the skull base, masked by nasopharyngeal lymphatic tissue hypertrophy and causing cranial nerve dysfunction in an HIV-infected patient.
Patients infected with HIV are at increased risk of developing lymphoma. The lymphomas often involve extranodal sites and +/-90% are of B-cell phenotype. We describe an HIV-infected patient with unilateral multiple cranial nerve dysfunction, most likely as a result of a nasopharyngeal B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in which early histologic confirmation of the diagnosis was delayed by the simultaneous presence of nasopharyngeal lymphatic tissue hypertrophy. It is of practical importance to recognize non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as a cause of cranial nerve dysfunction and to be aware of the possibility and the implications of the simultaneous presence of nasopharyngeal lymphatic tissue hypertrophy in HIV-infected patients.
van der Vliet
H J J
HJ
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine & AIDS, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. jj.vandervliet@vumc.nl
van Oers
M H J
MH
Schot
L J
LJ
Majoie
C B L
CB
van der Meer
J T M
JT
D003389:Cranial Nerve Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis