8th Baltic Congress of Radiology

Head and Neck Radiology

poster abstract

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is an aggressive high-grade, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) most commonly (75%) caused by reciprocal translocation t(8;14) that leads to the over-expression of the c-Myc gene. In 13-17% of cases, extranodal BL involves the central nervous system (CNS), as it is a severe and rare form of Burkitt lymphoma.

A 43-year-old man, in palliative care with known Burkitt lymphoma dup(1)(q22q25), t(8; 14) (q24;q32) with specific CNS infiltration, presents with severe leg pain, progressive motor axonal demyelinating polyneuropathy of the limbs and ptosis. During chemotherapy, acute hepatic injury of combined genesis had developed and remission was not achieved. The earlier MRI findings show abnormal intracranial tissues at the basal temporal lobe to the medial cranial fossa. There was no midline shift however there is spread along the cavernous sinus, into cavum Meckeli and perineurial spread to the Trigeminal nerve. Other structures involved with the expansions are the transverse sinus, tentorium cerebelli, the infundibular stalk, and the pineal gland. The recent hypophyseal - parahypophyseal changes demonstrate worsened condition. In addition, there was an abnormal signal on the left vestibulocochlear nerve. Due to the aggressiveness of the disease, and the condition of the patient palliative care with symptomatic treatment was begun. The hospital screening test was positive for SARS-CoV-2. Due to complications patient died two weeks later.

Accounting for about 1-2% of all adult lymphomas, Burkitt’s lymphoma is a rare subtype of lymphomas. This case demonstrates a relatively rare form of extranodal CNS involvement, which has been described in the literature in only 5-40% of BL cases.

This clinical case report presents radiological magnetic resonance imaging findings on a patient with Burkitt lymphoma that has CNS involvement.

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