A case of late recurrence of Burkitt’s Lymphoma presenting with abdominal masses and haematemesis

In August, 2005, a 10 year old boy was admitted to a district hospital with marked haematemesis and a huge abdominal mass. Initially, he was treated for ruptured oesophageal varices, but in vain. Then he was transferred to Mzuzu Central Hospital. The history revealed a previous clinical diagnosis of Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) in 2002, without pathological confirmation, when he had bilateral jaw masses and an epigastric mass. He had received four doses of cyclophosphamide (CPM) chemotherapy, 40mg/kg/dose fortnightly and responded partially with shrinkage of abdominal mass. One dose of intravenous combined chemotherapy of CPM, vincristine (1.5mg/sq.m/dose) and methotrexate (20mg/sq.m/dose) (COM) was then administered before he was lost to follow up.