CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Genitourinary Oncology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1686603
Transient penile erection following lumbar puncture with intrathecal prophylaxis in primary testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a case report
Provisionally accepted
- West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Primary testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PT-DLBCL) is a rare and aggressive extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma that predominantly affects older men and carries a relatively high risk of central nervous system (CNS) relapse. Although lumbar puncture with intrathecal prophylaxis is commonly employed to reduce CNS involvement, transient penile erection after this procedure is extraordinarily rare. This case report describes a 51-year-old man diagnosed with PT-DLBCL (stage IA) who underwent right radical orchiectomy, followed by six cycles of R2-CHOP chemotherapy with intrathecal prophylaxis prior to each cycle. Approximately 30 minutes after the sixth lumbar puncture, the patient developed a transient penile erection that persisted for approximately three hours before resolving spontaneously without intervention. He later received additional cycles of R-HD-MTX and scrotal radiotherapy, and no further episodes of penile erection or disease recurrence were observed. This clinical vignette highlights the potential for rare neurogenic reflex erections associated with repeated lumbar punctures, underscoring the importance of heightened vigilance, procedural refinement, and close monitoring in patients receiving multiple intrathecal treatments.
Keywords: Primary testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PT-DLBCL), Lumbar puncture (LP), Intrathecal prophylaxis, Penile Erection, case report
Received: 18 Aug 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Yang and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hongbing Ma, hongbingma@foxmail.com
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