Spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome in a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

An 77-year-old woman with no previous history of malignancy was admitted to the hospital with generalized weakness and malaise. Physical examination demonstrate multiple cervical adenopathies. The day after admission the patient developed severe metabolic derangements (hyperuricemia, hypocalcemia, hyperkalemia, hyperphosphatemia and azotemia) and expired. Consent for necropsy was refused. The cytology and molecular studies of cervical adenopathy sample were diagnostic of high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A presumptive diagnosis of non Hodgkin lymphoma with spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome was made.