Primary ovarian non-Hodgkin lymphoma: Diagnosis of two cases on fine needle aspiration cytology

Lymphoma of the female genital tract is a rare condition. Involvement of the ovary by non- Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is usually secondary to systemic disease and primary ovarian lymphomas are unusual. In most cases, the diagnosis is not suspected initially and is confirmed only after detailed histopathological evaluation. We describe two cases of primary ovarian NHL which were diagnosed on fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). One of the patients was a 40 years old female who presented with abdominal distension and lump. She was found to have bilateral adnexal masses on ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) scan. A USG guided fine needle aspiration of the ovarian masses was performed, following which a diagnosis of primary ovarian diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was established. The second patient was a 14 years old female who presented with pelvic lump, which was lobulated and mildly enhancing on contrast enhanced CT. A diagnosis of high grade NHL of ovaries was made on cytology. Subsequently, the lymphoma was characterized as Burkitt's on histopathological examination. Both the patients were started on R-CHOP chemotherapy regimen. FNAC serves as an extremely useful minimally invasive procedure for the diagnosis of ovarian lymphomas and early institution of appropriate chemotherapeutic regimens.