HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Min-Hsiung Huang Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hsu, P.-K. Articles by Hsu, W.-H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hsu, P.-K. Articles by Hsu, W.-H. Related Collections Chest wall

Ann Thorac Surg 2006;81:1214-1218
© 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

---

Original article: General thoracic

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Presenting as a Large Chest Wall Mass

^a Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
^b Department of Pathology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan

Accepted for publication November 21, 2005.

^_* Address correspondence to Dr Han-Shui Hsu, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Rd, Taipei, Taiwan (Email: hsuhs{at}vghtpe.gov.tw).

BACKGROUND: Malignant lymphoma presenting as a solitary chest wall mass is not frequently seen. Only a few case reports have been found in the English literature. The treatment for primary chest wall lymphoma remains unclear.

METHODS: From 1991 to 2004, of 157 patients with initial presentation of isolated chest wall mass, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was diagnosed in 7 of them. Patients with tumors arising from axillary lymph nodes or mediastinal lymphadenopathy with chest wall extension were excluded in the study. The clinical manifestation, management, and outcome of these patients were reviewed.

RESULTS: There were 1 female and 6 male patients with a mean age of 66.5 years. The mean largest diameter of the mass was 10.3 cm. Four of these 7 patients had the chest wall lymphoma as the only site of disease. The other 3 patients had other organ involvement including lung, bone, or liver. The pathologic diagnoses were malignant lymphoma in 2 patients and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in 5 patients. Three patients with chest wall lymphoma as the only site of disease had tumor excision followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. No recurrence or metastasis was noted for these 3 patients. The mean follow-up period was 102 months. The other patient with chest wall lymphoma as the only site of disease, who had chemotherapy as the initial treatment, remained free of disease for 6 months after treatment. The other 3 patients with other organ involvement who were managed with chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy died of disease after a mean survival of 20 months.

CONCLUSIONS: Malignant lymphoma presenting as a large chest wall mass is not common. Although the primary treatment of choice for lymphoma with or without chest wall involvement is chemotherapy, surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy can provide satisfactory outcome for some patients in whom the chest wall lymphoma was the only site of disease.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Aboud, G. Marx, H. Sayer, and J. F. Gummert Successful treatment of an aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with acute respiratory insufficiency using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery, February 1, 2008; 7(1): 173 - 174. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Gaissert Invited commentary Ann. Thorac. Surg., April 1, 2006; 81(4): 1218 - 1219. [Full Text] [PDF]