¶ … Nervous System Lymphoma page literature review "Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

The primary central nervous system lymphoma

The primary central nervous system lymphoma is a cancer type that is very rare, and affects the central nervous system i.e. spinal cord, brain, brain coverings, optic nerves, or the eyes. The cancer being referred to as a lymphoma indicates that its cells are lymphocytes which are a white blood cell type. Primary central nervous system lymphoma has no specific age group, but in most of the diagnosed cases, it is found in patients who are above 50 years. Immunosuppressed patients i.e. patients whose immune system has been reduced, like people living with AIDS or patients after organ transplant who are taking specific drugs, all seem to be more at risk of contracting this cancer Weinberg et al., 2005.

There is poor prognosis for immunocompromised patients.

Primary central nervous system lymphoma represents about 20% of lymphoma cases in HIV infections. The Epstein-Barr virus infection is associated with primary central nervous system lymphoma. Rarely is there any association with Epstein-Barr virus infections with patients who are not HIV infected or have any immunodeficiency. Primary central nervous system lymphoma was described first in 1920s. It used to be referred to using various names back then including reticulum cell sarcoma, perithelial sarcoma, and microglioma. It started been recognized as a lymphoma from 1970s.

Causes

There is no known cause of the primary central nervous system lymphoma. No one knows why lymphoma would involve an area that does not contain any lymphocytes. Researchers suggest this could be because of inflammation in the central nervous system. The lymphocytes that are cancerous might develop in other part of the body, but they get a receptor that pulls them to the central nervous system. Though, for patient with AIDS, the infection of Epstein-Barr virus triggers the lymphoma,...

These symptoms are dependent on the part of the central nervous system that is infected. If the brain is infected, a patient may suffer from headaches, have personality changes, drowsiness, memory problems, limb numbness, and walking difficulty. Patients, who get infected in the eyes, will first see floating spots, and this may progress and lead to eye sight loss Yoo, Lee, & Kwon-Chung, 1985.
Brain symptoms may come after or before the eye symptoms. Lack of immediate treatment may lead to progressive worsening of the cancer. The lymphoma cancer is not easily diagnosed as it does not infect other areas of the body. This means that symptoms that a person may have with other lymphoma forms may not be present in this cancer.

Diagnosing and testing the disease

The usual way for detecting the primary central nervous system lymphoma that affects the brain is by using an MRI scan. Revelations of lymphoma of the eye is by using a detailed clinical examination. Diagnosis of this cancer is usually delayed. This is because the cancer is rare and normally will mimic other common ailments. To reach a final diagnosis, there is need to have opinions from several practitioners namely the ophthalmologist and a neurosurgeon. As the disease can either affect the eyes and the brain, it is recommended that a patient who suffers from eye disease should see a neurosurgeon, and a person with brain disease be examined by an ophthalmologist. To get a definite diagnosis biopsy of the tissue is required. By a process referred to as vitrectomy, the biopsy is taken from the eye incase the eye is affected by the cancer. In the other cases, one can either get a spinal tap, or biopsy of the brain. There are special times when both will be required. A pathologist who is familiar with the cancer should examine the biopsy Gaidano et…