Primary Bone Marrow Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Presenting as Transverse Myelitis

Abstract

Primary bone marrow diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (BM-DLBCL) is uncommon, with prior reports largely limited to small case series. Here we report the case of a patient who presented with neurologic deficits consistent with acute transverse myelitis and was found to have DLBCL isolated to the bone marrow. We follow this case with a review of the literature summarizing 107 reported cases of BM-DLBCL. Consistent with our case, literature review indicates that BM-DLBCL is characterized by (1) frequent presentation with cytopenias and B symptoms (2) predominant non-germinal center phenotype and (3) aggressive disease with high International Prognostic Index score and low overall survival, with a median survival of 10.0 months in our cohort.