Use of a B-type natriuretic peptide in evaluating the treatment response of a relapsed lymphoma with cardiac involvement

Int J Hematol. 2006 Jan;83(1):44-6. doi: 10.1532/IJH97.A10502.

Abstract

A 50-year-old woman received a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2000 and achieved complete remission. In April 2004, echocardiography and computed tomography examinations identified a tumor attached to the tricuspid valve and protruding within the right atrium. Bone marrow and lymph node biopsies showed a relapse of large cell lymphoma. The patient had a markedly elevated level of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) but a normal level of cardiac troponin I. The follow-up evaluation of the BNP level after chemotherapy showed that it had returned to within normal limits, and an echocardiogram showed regression of the tumor. Use of the BNP level as a monitor in the treatment of cardiac lymphoma has never been reported. This article is the first to report the use of BNP monitoring before and after chemotherapy to evaluate a patient with an unusual relapsed lymphoma with cardiac involvement.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Female
  • Heart Neoplasms / blood*
  • Heart Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Heart Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Heart Neoplasms / secondary
  • Heart Valve Diseases / blood*
  • Heart Valve Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Heart Valve Diseases / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma, B-Cell / blood*
  • Lymphoma, B-Cell / diagnostic imaging
  • Lymphoma, B-Cell / drug therapy
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / blood*
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / diagnostic imaging
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / drug therapy
  • Middle Aged
  • Monitoring, Physiologic / methods
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / blood*
  • Radiography
  • Recurrence
  • Tricuspid Valve / diagnostic imaging

Substances

  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain