Rare Presentation of Primary Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma of a Rectosigmoid Colon in a 79-Year-Old With a History of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Mobeena Arif; Joseph Radakovitz; Pallavi Kulkarni; Iryna Hepburn

doi:10.7759/cureus.43465

Rare Presentation of Primary Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma of a Rectosigmoid Colon in a 79-Year-Old With a History of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Cureus. 2023 Aug 14;15(8):e43465. doi: 10.7759/cureus.43465. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Authors

Mobeena Arif¹, Joseph Radakovitz², Pallavi Kulkarni³, Iryna Hepburn⁴

Affiliations

¹ Family Medicine Residency Program, WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital, Lebanon, USA.
² Family Medicine, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, USA.
³ Family and Community Medicine, Penn State University College of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, USA.
⁴ Gastroenterology, Wellspan Good Samaritan Hospital, Lebanon, USA.

Abstract

We discuss the case of a 79-year-old immunocompetent male who presented with weight loss and diarrhea and ultimately was found to have a rectosigmoid mass on a colonoscopy. Even though initial biopsies obtained during colonoscopy were non-diagnostic, considering the likelihood of malignancy, lower anterior resection was performed, and pathology confirmed the diagnosis of primary Hodgkin's lymphoma of the sigmoid colon. Hodgkin's lymphoma typically presents as painless supra-diaphragmatic lymphadenopathy with B symptoms such as fever, unexplained weight loss, and drenching night sweats. Due to the rarity of primary Hodgkin lymphoma in the colon and its non-specific initial presentation, we believe sharing this case will bring awareness to the atypical presentation of Hodgkin lymphomas.

Keywords: classic hodgkin lymphoma; extra nodal non hodgkin lymphoma; hodgkin lymphoma; irritable bowel disease; primary lymphoma; sigmoid colon.

Publication types

Case Reports