Primary Cardiac Lymphoma Evaluated With Integration of PET/CT and Contrast-Enhanced CT

Abstract

A 43-year-old man had complete AV block and syncope. Echocardiography revealed a cardiac tumor attaching to the interatrial septum and protruding into the left atrial and right atrial cavities. F-18 FDG-PET/CT was performed and was interpreted with contrast-enhanced CT in similar planes side by side. It revealed remarkably increased glucose metabolism in the right atrium, interatrial septum, left atrium, and in a mass protruding from the posterior aspect of pericardium. Regions with central necrosis were found but there was no evidence of pleural and lymph node involvement. Endometrial biopsy demonstrated diffuse large B cell lymphoma and primary cardiac lymphoma was diagnosed. Integration of PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT can play an important part in the evaluation of cardiac tumors since it makes differentiation of the intracardiac structures much easier and more precisely.