Primary Bilateral B-Cell Renal Lymphoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Renal lymphoma is commonly secondary to lymphomatous infiltration of the kidneys in disseminated lymphoma and advanced stage IV disease. We describe a 57-year-old white woman presenting with an acute renal failure due to a bilateral “primary” B-cell lymphoma infiltration of the kidneys. The diagnosis of the lymphoma was made by renal biopsy. The striking feature observed was a destructive infiltration of the kidney by a malignant B-cell lymphoma that left the renal capsule intact, without any sign of secondary localization on the hilar regions. Physical examination did not reveal any peripheral lymphadenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly. A bilateral infiltration of both kidneys was the only feature shown by computed tomography and renal angiography. This case raises the question of the occurrence of a primary B-cell lymphoma in a nonlymphoid organ, which was diagnosed by renal biopsy at a time when the development was exclusively renal in origin.