Primary ovarian lymphoma

Last revised by Yahya Baba on 23 Jun 2022

Primary ovarian lymphoma (POL) refers to the involvement of the ovary with lymphoma but without the involvement of any other site. It is an extremely rare yet well-recognized condition.

Primary ovarian lymphoma accounts for ~1.5% of ovarian tumors 5.

The rarity of this condition is probably in part due to the lack of lymphoid tissue in the normal ovary 4-5. In almost all instances, cases tend to be non-Hodgkin lymphoma (~0.5% of NHL tends to involve the ovary 5) with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) being a dominant histological type 2. Burkitt lymphoma has also been infrequently described.

Imaging features are usually non-specific on ultrasound.

Once the diagnosis is made CT is the preferred imaging modality of ongoing assessment, particularly for staging purposes. Often tends to be hypoattenuating on CT with mild enhancement post-contrast 4.

Tends to be of a relatively homogeneous signal. Described signal characteristics include 4:

  • T1: hypointense
  • T2: slightly hyperintense

This is one of the rare situations where the FIGO staging system is not used. Instead, the standard non-Hodgkin lymphoma staging system is used.

The prognosis generally tends to be better than for other primary tumors of the ovary.

ADVERTISEMENT: Supporters see fewer/no ads

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.