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CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Neuro-Oncology and Neurosurgical Oncology
Volume 15 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1410953
From Misdiagnosis to Timely Detection: A Clinical and Imaging Guide to Neurological Presentations of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma-Insights from Six Cases
Provisionally accepted- 1 Department of Neurology, First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
- 2 School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
- 3 Department of Neurology, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China, Shijiazhuang, China
Background: The clinical spectrum of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is notably heterogeneous. Some DLBCL patients initially present with neurological manifestations, leading to their preliminary diagnosis within neurology departments. However, the overlap of clinical and auxiliary examination findings with those of various neurological entities-such as cerebral infarction, demyelination, viral encephalitis, and peripheral neuropathy-often results in diagnostic misattribution.Case Presentation: We delineate six pathologically-confirmed DLBCL cases, each heralded by neurological deficits, including limb paresis, sensory loss, vertigo, seizure activity, and aphasia. These presentations precipitated multiple erroneous diagnoses pertaining to nervous system pathologies, culminating in a median diagnostic latency of 8 months.The differential diagnostic process for the misdiagnosed conditions in these cases has been meticulously revisited, enhancing the diagnostic acumen of neurologists. These cases 2 underscore the imperative for neurologists to maintain a high index of suspicion for lymphoma in atypical presentations and to judiciously integrate multimodal diagnostic modalities-such as comprehensive imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and biopsy-to expedite diagnosis and initiate timely intervention.
Keywords: DLBCL, PCNSL, Neurological symptoms, Misdiagnosis, case report
Received: 15 Apr 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yu, Yang, Gong, Wang, Yuan, Na and Xie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shengyuan Yu, Department of Neurology, First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
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