title: PET/CT presentation of primary effusion lymphoma-like lymphoma unrelated to human herpes virus 8, a rare NHL subtype.
abstract: We present a 71-year-old female with human herpes virus 8 (HHV8)-unrelated primary effusion lymphoma (PEL)-like lymphoma. Dyspnea and pericardial effusion led to pericardiocentesis, diagnosing diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. She underwent positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), which demonstrated hypermetabolic pericardial, pleural, and ascites fluid without lymphadenopathy elsewhere. Malignant fluid in the absence of lymphadenopathy is a hallmark of PEL. PEL is associated with immunodeficiency states such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and infectious agents such as HHV8. Our patient had no such history and had not received immunosuppressive chemotherapy. We present the PET/CT findings of this rare case of HHV8-unrelated PEL-like lymphoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Vivek V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sideras
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Machac
keywords: Human herpes virus 8; malignant pericardial effusion; positron emission tomography/computed tomography; primary effusion lymphoma