Background: Primary bone lymphomas (PBL) are extremely rare malignant neoplasms. The most commonly described subtype of PBL is diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). DLBCL within peri-prosthetic membrane of a joint is exceedingly rare. To the best of our knowledge this case is the second reported Epstein-Bar-Virus (EBV) negative DLBCL in a peri-prosthetic membrane in the literature.
Case presentation: We report an 80 year old female patient who developed a DLBCL with chronic inflammation in association to a metallic implant in the left knee. This lymphoma in contrast to the usually described DLBCL in the peri-prosthetic membrane was EBV negative by EBER in situ hybridization as well as by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Conclusion: This report challenges the concept of DLBCL associated with chronic inflammation and raises the question of other pathogenetic factors involved in the pathogenesis of this rare disease.
Keywords: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; Epstein-Barr-Virus negative; Knee arthroplasty; Peri-prosthetic membrane; Primary bone lymphoma.