Endobronchial non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting as an isolated endobronchial mass

Abstract

Lymphomatous involvement of the thorax may be present in up to 43% of patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Mediastinal adenopathy is the most frequent manifestation of NHL, but involvement of the pulmonary parenchyma and/or tracheo-bronchial tree is recognized. Endobronchial involvement with NHL is very rare and usually occurs in the setting of widely disseminated disease. Although some cases have reported NHL mostly confined to the major bronchi, it is difficult to call them cases of primary endobronchial NHL, i.e., cases in which NHL originated from the airway, as only a few described the computed tomography (CT) features. We report a case of isolated primary endobronchial NHL presenting as an endobronchial mass on CT examination in which systemic evaluation did not reveal any additional involvement. Our institutional review board does not require the patient’s informed consent for this kind of retrospective study.