A case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the upper gingiva with minimal residual disease detected in cryopreserved ovarian tissue: A case report

Recently, more than 200 live births following ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) and transplantation in cancer survivors have been reported worldwide. However, cancer survivors with minimal residual disease (MRD) in cryopreserved ovarian tissue are at the risk of relapse through the graft. Here, we report a rare case of a 19-year-old female patient with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who had MRD in the ovary harvested for OTC. The patient was diagnosed with aggressive B-cell lymphoma after gingival biopsy. The 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography scan performed before OTC showed no viable lesions in either ovary. However, on histological evaluation, we detected infiltration of lymphoma cells in the ovary. Informed consent about MRD is required even if there is no evidence of MRD in the ovary before OTC. Patients whose cryopreserved ovaries have MRD may require the development of alternative assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro growth or artificial ovary.