nasopharyngeal burkitt’s lymphoma a case report

Burkitt’s lymphoma is a common childhood tumour in Africa.It is a highly aggressive lymphoma characterized histologically by a diffuse infiltrate of intermediate size cells with a high mitotic rate. The lymphomas commonly have a significant spontaneous cell death (apoptosis) which results in a starry sky appearance caused by numerous macrophages that have engulfed the apoptotic debris. Affectation of the nasopharynx is unusual. We report a case of 7 year old primary school pupil who presented with Right-nasal mass, which was later, confirmed to be Burkitt’s lymphoma of the Nasopharynx. The case is discussed because of its rarity and diagnostic challenges.