Possibilities and Difficulties of Treatment in the Case of a Pregnant Patient with Primary Mediastinal Large B-cell Lymphoma

Background: There are several histologic variants and clinical subtypes of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, which includes the primary mediastinal large B cell lymphoma (PMBL). In the last 10 years the incidence of diffuse large lymphomas grew significantly.
Case report: We present the case and evolution of an aggressive life-threatening mediastinal B cell lymphoma with respiratory insufficiency, diagnosed in the 27th week of pregnancy. After 4 courses of R-CHOP the clinical status has somewhat improved, but the dyspnea, the facial and neck oedema and the trouble of speech persisted. After the patient was admitted to our hospital, she received DHAP regimen followed by mobilization with G-CSF. Before transplantation we administered another 3 courses of DHAP chemotherapy with spectacular results. We performed autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation preceded by BEAM chemotherapy. At present, 5 years post-transplant the patient is well, with no metabolically active disease on the PET-CT performed 3 months ago.
Conclusion: We can conclude that even in very complicated DLBCL cases, with a very good, efficient medical-team work we can salvage lives, in our case both of the mother and the child’s. Even in partially chemo-refractory cases like in the presented one, salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous transplantation can lead to a successful treatment.