Therapeutic management in cardiac lymphoma

Relapsed/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma with cardiac involvement: A case report and literature review

Background

Hematological malignancies of the heart (CHMs) are extremely rare, and include leukemia, lymphoma infiltration, and multiple myeloma with extramedullary manifestations. Cardiac lymphoma can be divided into primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) and secondary cardiac lymphoma (SCL). Compared to PCL, SCL is relatively more common. Histologically, the most frequent SCL is diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The prognosis of lymphoma in patients with cardiac involvement is extremely poor. CAR T-cell immunotherapy has been recently become a highly effective treatment for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. To date, there are no guidelines that provide a clear consensus on the management of patients with secondary heart or pericardial involvement. We report a case of relapsed/refractory DLBCL that secondarily affected the heart.

Case presentation

A male patient was diagnosed with double-expressor DLBCL based on biopsies of mediastinal and peripancreatic masses and fluorescence in situ hybridization. The patient received first-line chemotherapy and anti-CD19 CAR T cell immunotherapy, but developed heart metastases after 12 months. Considering his physical condition and economic situation of the patient, two cycles of multiline chemotherapies were administered, followed by CAR-NK cell immunotherapy and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) at another hospital. After achieving a six-month survival, the patient died of severe pneumonia.

Conclusion

The response of our patient emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and timely treatment to improve the prognosis of SCL and serves as an important reference for SCL treatment strategies.

Successful treatment of primary cardiac lymphoma causing ST-elevation myocardial infarction by percutaneous coronary intervention combined with chemotherapy

A 76-year-old immunocompetent woman presented to our hospital with general fatigue. Her blood pressure was 60/40 mm Hg and pulse rate was 110 bpm. An electrocardiogram showed ST-elevation in the II, III and aVF leads with complete atrioventricular block. An echocardiogram and CT revealed pericardial effusion and a 6 cm solid tumour lying anterior to the heart. The right coronary artery (RCA) ran through the centre of the tumour, which bulged into the right atrium for 35 mm and vibrated. Emergent coronary angiography revealed 99% stenosis with delay at the proximal RCA; however, intravascular ultrasound showed no atheromatous changes, and the RCA was compressed by the extravascular mass. Successful coronary stenting improved the coronary flow. The following day, a biopsy was performed via thoracotomy without any events, the results of which showed diffuse-type large B-cell lymphoma histologically. Chemotherapy gradually reduced the tumour size, and the patient became stable haemodynamically.

Primary cardiac lymphoma with isolated parenchymal central nervous system relapse: report of two cases and review of the literature

Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) is a rare subset of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma involving the heart and/or pericardium with no or minimal evidence of extracardiac involvement at presentation. Distant relapses have infrequently been observed.

We report two cases of this disorder that showed isolated central nervous system (CNS) relapse. Diagnosis by endomyocardial biopsy was consistent with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. After immunochemotherapy they achieved complete remission (CR). Eight and five weeks after, isolated CNS relapses were observed respectively. The first patient was treated with high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) and high-dose cytarabine, resulting in a second CR. She then went onto receive autologous stem-cell transplantation but unfortunately died shortly after because of infection. The second patient received systemic CNS prophylaxis with HD-MTX, and later she was treated with an induction chemotherapy strategy with evidencing of progressive disease after two courses of treatment. She was subsequently initiated on a salvage therapy with cytarabine, followed by whole-brain radiotherapy, and autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT), finally achieving a complete remission.

Isolated CNS relapse is a very uncommon pattern in PCL and a standard approach to treatment is not yet well established. Nevertheless, the importance of CNS evaluation, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and lumbar puncture, in patients with PCL should be considered, and further studies are recommended to determine the appropriate management of this complication.