Abstract
Background. It is difficult to diagnose lung lymphoproliferative disorders based only on pathological findings. Therefore, the final diagnosis should be made comprehensively, taking into account the patient's clinical course. The prognosis of EBV-associated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of the elderly is worse than that of EBV-non-associated DLBCL of the elderly. Case. A 75-year-old female was referred in 2005 due to abnormal chest X-ray findings. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed ground-glass opacity in the right lower lobe. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was performed, the results of which suggested a lymphoproliferative disorder. However, since the patient had no clinical symptoms, her clinical course was observed. Six years later, she experienced right chest pain, and chest CT showed a large tumor in the upper lobe. A percutaneous lung biopsy was performed, and a final pathological diagnosis of EBV-associated DLBCL of the elderly was made. After seven courses of combination chemotherapy, the patient's symptoms improved, and chest CT demonstrated a reduction in the size of the tumor. Conclusions. We experienced a rare case of EBV-associated DLBCL of the elderly occurring six years after a diagnosis of lung lymphoproliferative disorder.
