High-grade B-cell lymphoma initially presenting with dysphagia, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and adrenal invasion

Abstract

Gastric high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL) with adrenal gland invasion is a rare clinical entity with few cases reported in the literature. Patients usually present with nonspecific symptoms that lead to delays in the diagnosis, initiation of treatment, and prognosis. In this report, we present a case of a middle-aged woman in her 60s who presented with shortness of breath, dysphagia, early satiety, and melena. Further investigations confirmed the presence of an ulcerated gastric mass with invasion to the left adrenal gland, and histopathological and molecular studies of the gastric mass confirmed the diagnosis of B-Cell Lymphoma with MYC and BCL-6 rearrangements, a rare aggressive lymphoma subtype known as HGBL. Consequently, she was started on R-CHOP-21 chemotherapy protocol with good outcomes and resolution of the mass on repeat imaging; the current report aimed to emphasize the importance of recognizing unusual presentations of HGBL, especially gastric HGBL, which will help in early recognition, treatment, and prognosis.

Keywords

• double-hit lymphoma
• high-grade b-cell lymphoma
• non-hodgkin's lymphoma
• upper gastrointestinal bleeding