A case report on the effect of rituximab on pyothorax-associated lymphoma

RATIONALE: Pyothorax-associated lymphoma (PAL) is a rare type of malignant pleural lymphoma. Most lymphomas are normally discovered around 20 to 50 years after tuberculosis infection. In China, there have been few reports about PAL cases so far. We report a case of a patient, whose tuberculosis and lymphoma were diagnosed concurrently. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient, a 76-year-old male, was reported to our hospital on March 13, 2015. He had recurrent shortness of breath during the previous 2 years of routine activities solely. His symptoms became more serious which was manifested by edema of lower limbs 1 day before his admission to our hospital. DIAGNOSES: Doctors reached the diagnosis of PAL based on the patient's pathologic cell morphology and immunohistochemistry. The chest computed tomography examination revealed that there were pleural effusions on both sides, and some extent of compressive atelectasis in the lower parts of the inflamed lungs yet without space-occupying lesions. There were multiple small nodules which may be benign in the right upper lung. INTERVENTIONS: The current first-line treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, prednisone (CHOP) protocol. Given that the patient had cardiac diseases and cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines, doctors decided to adopt rituximab with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone chemotherapy without anthracyclines. OUTCOMES: The treatment effect was obvious after one cycle of chemotherapy. The patient's pleural and pericardial effusions were significantly reduced. With the chemotherapy protocol above continuously adopted, pleural and pericardial effusions did not increase in multiple reexaminations on October 25, 2015, February 15, 2016, and August 10, 2016. LESSONS: Analytical research revealed that chemotherapy with rituximab can increase the complete remission rate of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, reduce the possibility of failure and relapse, and prolong disease-free and overall survival. Moreover, there is no significant increase in adverse drug reactions compared with the effect of chemotherapy with CHOP alone. In the case of this patient, chemotherapy with rituximab was safe and efficacious.