The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2014 , Vol 56 , Num 1
Isolated central nervous system relapse in a child with non- Hodgkin lymphoma during treatment
1Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Institute of Oncology and 2Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology,
Department of Pediatrics and 3Department of Pathology, İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul,
Turkey. E-mail: gulentuysuz@hotmail.com
Isolated central nervous system (CNS) relapse of non–Hodgkin lymphoma
(NHL) is very rare. We report a five-year-old boy with T-cell lymphoblastic
lymphoma (T-LBL), who developed CNS relapse under treatment when the
primary tumor was in complete remission. The patient presented initially
with persistent cough and an anterior mediastinal mass and had no bone
marrow or CNS involvement at diagnosis. During re-induction treatment, a
routine lumbar puncture revealed blasts in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
The patient developed neurological signs and symptoms consequently.
Craniospinal radiotherapy followed by BFM (Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster) highrisk
chemotherapy protocol was initiated. Despite complete response after
three courses, the patient experienced CNS relapse and expired due to disease
progression. In the treatment of a NHL patient, routine CSF analysis should be
done for tumor cells even when the primary disease is in complete remission.
Keywords :
non-Hodgkin lymphoma, central nervous system relapse, children, central
nervous system prophylaxis.