Choroidal neovascularization as a complication of primary vitreous retinal lymphoma

Purpose: To describe a case of primary vitreous retinal lymphoma (PVRL) complicated with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and presented with severe macular edema (ME).

Case description: A 52-year-old female patient was diagnosed with bilateral PVRL. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed severe macular edema (ME) and subretinal hyperreflective material in the left eye at the first visit. No sign of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) was found with fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) or indocyanine green angiography (ICGA). The ME was resolved after standard intraocular chemotherapy, while the subretinal hyperreflective material remained stable. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was performed 2 years after chemotherapy. OCTA revealed a well-circumscribed CNV network in the subretinal hyperreflective material.

Conclusion: It is a rare occurrence that CNV and ME developed in this PVRL patient. The presence of ME is not an exclusion criterion for PVRL. This case should also raise awareness of the importance of OCTA as a method for monitoring intraocular lymphoma during follow-up.

Keywords: Primary vitreous retinal lymphoma; choroidal neovascularization; macular edema; optical coherence tomography angiography.