Lymphoma relapse; so obvious?

The development of fevers, night sweats and weight loss or ‘B-symptoms’ are some of the early indications of possible relapse in lymphoma survivors. However, these symptoms are non-specific and could be the result of many other medical conditions. We report a case of a woman with the prior history of lymphoma who presented with B symptoms (drenching sweats and weight loss) and hypermetabolic cervical lymph node enlargement. This was highly suspicious for recurrent lymphoma, however, the biopsy of the lymph node was negative. Further evaluation revealed the presence of thyrotoxicosis. As illustrated by this case report, what seems like an obvious relapse is not always a lymphoma. Understanding such possibilities is important for the management of lymphoma survivors.