title: Primary cardiac lymphoma causing right atrial occlusion.
abstract: Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCL) are extremely rare, and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is a highly aggressive subtype. We report a case that was initially diagnosed as chronic right heart dysfunction. Detailed investigations revealed a large lobulated tumour occluding the right atrium, infiltrating the inter-atrial septum, the roof of the left atrium, and the aortic root. Despite adequate surgical debulking and initial successful tricuspid annuloplasty, the patient succumbed to multi-organ failure. Pathological analysis of the resected tumour confirmed a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a proliferation rate of 100%. What is unique about this case is the size of this rare cardiac tumour, which we believe to be one of the largest described in the literature for a purely intra-cardiac PCL, its aggressive growth rate, and the relatively mild symptomatology until a late stage of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital and Medical Faculty of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. mustafa.cikirikcioglu@hcuge.ch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cikirikcioglu
authors.forename: V C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Keil
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cherian
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Theologou
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Merlani
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: M-J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Licker
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalangos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome