title: Lymphomas presenting as chest wall tumors.
abstract: Four cases of thoracic lymphoma mimicking chest wall tumors are presented. As resection is not the treatment of first choice in lymphomas, pretherapeutical evaluation of chest wall tumors should include a thoroughly staging and a biopsy for histopathological diagnosis. Chest wall destruction due to an anterior mediastinal mass, or a chest wall tumor associated with mediastinal lymph node enlargement, could be suspicious of thoracic lymphoma. Lymphoma with chest wall involvement mostly turns out to be Hodgkin's disease or large B-cell lymphoma. Stage and histopathological diagnosis have major impact on treatment and prognosis. Therapy is chemotherapy or chemo-radiation.
authors.affiliation: Katholisches Klinikum Koblenz, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Koblenz, Germany.
authors.forename: Biruta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Witte
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hürtgen