Primary lymphoma of the spinal cord.

Lymphomas may occur in the central nervous system either as primary lesions or secondary to lymphomas in other sites. While lymphomas secondary to generalized lymphoproliferation may occur in either the brain or the spinal cord, primary lymphomas are found almost exclusively in the brain. Only three primary lymphomas of the cord have been reported. We recently had the opportunity to study a fourth case. Spinal cord lymphoma was not the diagnosis considered in any of these cases. Since the lesion is radiosensitive, inclusion of primary lymphoma in the differential diagnosis of obscure spinal cord tumors could result in a histological diagnosis and effective therapy.