Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Case Report

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma with low signal intensity lesions on T2 weighted spinal magnetic resonance image that were suspected to be hemorrhages

Tomoko Ishikawa, M.D.1), Yuko Ogata, M.D.2), Junko Tsuda, M.D.3), Katsumasa Goto, M.D.1) and Hiroshi Kikuchi, M.D.2)

1)Department of Neurology, Nishibeppu National Hospital
2)Department of Hematology, Nishibeppu National Hospital
3)Department of Dermatology, Nishibeppu National Hospital

A 79-year-old female had a spinal lesion that was definitely diagnosed as intravascular large B-cell lymphoma on the basis of skin biopsy findings, and she was treated by rituximab-containing chemotherapy. The spinal lesion showed high and low signal intensities on T2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, those low signal intensity lesions were suspected to be hemorrhages. The hemorrhages were thought to have been caused by interaction between atypical lymphoma cells and the endothelial cells of spinal blood vessels, by hemorrhagic infarction or by rupture of the capillary endothelium due to interaction between rituximab and lymphoma cells. Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma cases rarely show low signal intensity on spinal T2 weighted MRI scans.
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (719K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 52: 344|350, 2012)
key words: intravascular large B-cell lymphoma, spinal lesion, skin biopsy, hemorrhage, T2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging

(Received: 17-Sep-11)