Biliary Obstruction Caused by Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Involvement: A Case Report

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is known to be a rare and unusual cause of biliary obstruction. We report a case of biliary obstruction that a 25-year-old male showed icteric sclera and yellow discoloration of his skin caused by metastasis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Initial imaging & endoscopic work-up led us to an impression of either cholangiocarcinoma or IgG4-related disease, yet the pathological results weren't diagnostic. Through our thorough re-examination, we found a 5cm sized round, fixed, non-tender sternal mass, and additional imaging studies were suggestive of lymphoma, which was also consistent with the results of incisional chest wall biopsy. Biliary obstruction by lymphoma was successfully treated by endoscopic plastic stent insertion procedure and chemotherapy. Although it is widely accepted that lymphoma accounts for very few portion of malignant biliary obstruction, due to the fact that lymphoma and cholangiocarcinoma are often indistinguishable, careful diagnostic approach should be done.