Primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the liver and asbestos exposure

Main Article Content

Claudio Bianchi
Tommaso Bianchi

Keywords

non-Hodgkin lymphoma, extranodal lymphoma, liver, asbestos, immune impairment.

Abstract

A 42-year-old man was diagnosed with a Bcell, centroblastic, follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the liver in 1992. He had worked as carpenter and shipwright in various firms and as a fitter at the Monfalcone shipyards. Partial hepatectomy and chemotherapy were performed. The patient remained symptom-free for 14 years. In 2006 lymphoma recurred with involvment of left subpleural tissue, some ribs, abdominal and pelvic lymphnodes. Chemotherapy resulted in a transitory improvement. The patient died in 2008. In this case, occupational history indicates that the patient had heavily exposed to asbestos. Asbestos, as an agent inducing immune impairment, plausibly played a major role in the development of liver lymphoma as well as in the recurrence of the disease.

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