Primary central nervous system lymphoma at the cerebellopontine angle mimicking a trigeminal schwannoma: A unique case report and literature review

• Published in: Journal of clinical neuroscience Vol. 52; pp. 115 - 119
• Main Authors: Seevaratnam, Vijay, Li, Yingda, Lee, Sun Loong Keegan, Olsson, Gemma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scotland Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2018
• Subjects: Cerebellopontine angle; Diffuse large-cell lymphoma; Malignant lymphoma; Primary central nervous system lymphoma; Diffuse large-cell lymphoma; Primary central nervous system lymphoma; Malignant lymphoma; Cerebellopontine angle
• ISSN: 0967-5868; 1532-2653
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2018.01.016

•Primary central nervous system lymphoma should always be a key differential for all tumours at the cerebellopontine angle.•Radiologically these tumours are hard to differentiate from other noted tumours at this anatomical site including trigeminal schwannoma’s.•By obtaining frozen sections, unnecessary surgical debulking can be avoided and allow for early oncology and haematology input. Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is an uncommon extranodal manifestation of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with those presenting at the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) being rare presentations with limited reported cases in the literature. We report a 60-year old female presenting with PCNSL of the left CPA radiologically mimicking a trigeminal schwannoma with corresponding clinical signs. Imaging showed a left CPA lesion that was biopsied and confirmed as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Given its rarity, PCNSL should be considered in the differential diagnosis for all CPA tumours.