Clinical heterogeneity of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the eye with extraocular manifestations

Primary, ocular Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a multicentric disease. The prognosis is mostly determined by involvement of the central nervous system and/or visceral organs. Since ocular symptoms often precede accompanying manifestations and since the eye is easily accessible to diagnostic measures, the ophthalmological diagnosis is essential for early detection and treatment of this complex disease, which has a poor prognosis. To illustrate the extraordinary heterogeneity of the clinical symptoms, four case reports have been selected which demonstrate various ocular symptoms and extraocular localizations. The ophthalmological variability ranges from typical uveitis to retinitis and vasculitis with varying symptoms during the progression of the disease. Completely different extraocular features were induced by long-standing, local infiltrates within basal ganglia, a diffuse infiltration of the brain leading to an acute increase in intracranial pressure, a peripheral tumour within the spinal channel or massive infiltrates of liver, lung and kidneys. Lack of pathognomonic features, high clinical variability and the limited value of imaging techniques and histopathological measures often lead to serious delays in diagnosis.