EBV lymphoproliferative-associated disease and primary cardiac T-cell lymphoma in a STK4 deficient patient: A case report

RATIONALE: Primary cardiac lymphoma (PLC) is an extremely uncommon malignancy. PCL is more common in secondary immunodeficient patients. In this report, we describe a unique case of PLC who had been diagnosed as a STK4 deficient patient. This case is the first Primary immunodeficiency (PID) patient developing PCL in the world. PATIENT CONCERNS: An eleven-year-old girl, a known case of PID, was referred to the pediatric cardiology department because of chest pain and dyspnea. Her CXR revealed cardiomegaly without mediastinal involvement and the echocardiography showed a mild pericardial effusion and cystic-shape echogenic masses. DIAGNOSES: After a period of missed follow up, she presented with respiratory distress following with syncope at the clinic because of a pressure effect of a large mass on the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) .An emergency operation was done for debulking of the tumors and resolving of RVOT obstruction. Biopsy and immunohistochemical staining was revealing “T-cell lymphoma”, non-Hodgkin's type. INTERVENTIONS: Chemotherapy was done with cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, adriamycine, vincristine, hydrocortisone and allopurinol. OUTCOMES: The tumors shrank after chemotherapy initiation and she stayed stable for almost one month. Finally, she developed sever thrombocytopenia during her chemotherapy and died because of lung hemorrhage two months after her operation. LESSONS: Although PCL is very rare, it must be considered in the differential diagnosis of intracardiac mass or refractory pericardial effusions, especially in PIDs which are widely known for developing EBV-associated diseases such as lymphoma.