Muscle involvement in Burkitt's lymphoma

Burkitt's lymphoma is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma caused by undifferentiated B lymphocyte proliferations. It is characterized by its rapid growth and marked sensitivity to chemotherapy. There are two widely different variants: African or endemic and American . A third intermediate variants is reported in the Middle East. The American variety develops in children over 11 years of age, and present mainly in the form of abdominal masses. usually in the ileocecal region of the gastrointestinal tract. We present a case in which the symptomatology was highly atypical presenting as a tumor ar the level of the sheath of left anterior rectal muscle of the abdomen, which recurred. We discuss the US and CT findings. FNAB was performed. An exhaustive review of the literature failed discover any previous reports of Burkitt's lymphoma occurring in that location. (Author) 8 refs