Impact of serial echocardiography in the management of primary cardiac lymphoma

Publication date: Available online 19 August 2017 Source:Journal of the Saudi Heart Association Author(s): Antonella Moreo, Alberto Cereda, Paola Sormani, Benedetta De Chiara, Francesca Casadei, Michelle Zancanella, Chiara Rusconi, Roberto Cairoli, Cristina Giannattasio Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) represents an extremely rare subset of extranodal lymphomas for which the primary lesion arises from the heart. The prognosis is poor, since diagnosis is often delayed and median survival is less than 12 months. We aimed at elucidating the usefulness of echocardiographic monitoring in the clinical management through the reports of three emblematic cases of PCL successfully treated. Our case series highlights the potential utility of echocardiographic imaging and its various modalities such as tissue doppler velocity to assess cardiac involvement of PCLs and to monitor the response to the chemotherapeutic regimen. Doppler tissue imaging analysis can provide information about subtle changes of the myocardial tissues disrupted by the lymphomatous infiltration and their improvement and normalization are related to the reduction of the tissue infiltration and the disappearance of the malignancy.
Source: Journal of the Saudi Heart Association - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research