Diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma intracerebral mass lesions. Usefulness of Tc-99m pertechnetate and Ga-67 citrate brain scans.

This paper summarizes the clinical and diagnostic features of five reports of patients with intracerebral, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In three patients the brain lesion was the only evidence of lymphoma, while two patients also had concomitant systemic involvement. Four patients had diffuse histiocytic lymphoma and one had a mixed type of malignant lymphoma. In all patients, Tc-99m and Ga-67 brain scans disclosed discrete areas of increased radionuclide uptake consistent with a mass. In each case, brain blood perfusion studies were normal and brain computerized tomographic (CT) scans and cerebral angiograms produced variable nondiagnostic patterns. Craniotomies in four patients provided histologic confirmation of the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the areas of abnormality. The remaining patient had systemic histiocytic lymphoma with concomitant brain lesions that responded to irradiation. The combined use of the above noninvasive modalities in correlation with clinical findings may result in more accurate prebiopsy diagnoses of intracerebral lymphoma.