# Primary Lacrimal Sac Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Treated With Local Radiotherapy Alone: A Case With No Relapse After 21 Years of Follow-Up

**Authors:** Toshihiko Matsuo, Takehiro Tanaka, Mitsuhiro Takemoto

PMC · DOI: 10.7759/cureus.95411 · Cureus · 2025-10-25

## TL;DR

A woman with a rare eye lymphoma was successfully treated with local radiotherapy alone and remained cancer-free for 21 years.

## Contribution

This case demonstrates long-term remission of primary lacrimal sac lymphoma using local radiotherapy without systemic chemotherapy.

## Key findings

- Local radiotherapy alone achieved no lymphoma relapse for 21 years in a patient with primary lacrimal sac diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
- The patient experienced radiation-related eye complications but maintained stable visual acuity after vitrectomy.
- No systemic lesions were detected at diagnosis, supporting localized treatment as a viable option.

## Abstract

Primary lacrimal sac lymphoma is rare and diagnosed as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in a predominant histopathological type. Systemic chemotherapy would be the standard of care, but local radiotherapy may be a treatment option toward a localized lesion. The present patient is a 54-year-old otherwise healthy woman with a right lacrimal sac mass, which was proven by excisional biopsy to be diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Since she did not have any other systemic lesions on gallium scintigraphy and neck-to-abdominal computed tomography scans, which were the standard procedure at that time, she underwent local radiotherapy at 40 Gy. Two years later, at the age of 56 years, she developed radiation retinopathy with macular edema in the right eye and had spotty laser photocoagulation in the nasal half of the fundus. At the age of 57 years, she developed radiation cataract and underwent cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation in the right eye. At the age of 58 years, the macular edema in the right eye became worse and remained active, resulting in poor visual acuity of 0.1. She thus underwent 25-gauge vitrectomy in the right eye to peel off the adhering posterior vitreous surface, together with the internal limiting membrane, as the standard procedure at that time. The visual acuity in the right eye was elevated to 0.6. She maintained the visual acuity afterward and had no relapse of lymphoma in 21 years from the diagnosis of primary right lacrimal sac diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Local radiotherapy would still be a treatment option for localized lymphoma lesions such as primary lacrimal sac lymphoma.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (MONDO:0018905), macular edema (MONDO:0003005)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** cataract (MESH:D002386), Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (MESH:D016403), radiation retinopathy (MESH:D011832), lacrimal sac mass (MESH:C536030), macular edema (MESH:D008269), Primary lacrimal sac lymphoma (MESH:D008223)
- **Chemicals:** gallium (MESH:D005708)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

6 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12643826/full.md

## References

35 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12643826/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12643826