[Primary gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: clinical findings and prognostic factors].

PURPOSE

This work was undertaken to determine the clinical course and prognostic factors in patients with primary gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

64 patients were enrolled, including 26 females and 38 males, aged 22 to 80 years. The diagnosis of primary gastric NHL was made on the basis of histopathologic examination of samples collected during gastroscopy in 50 or gastrectomy in 14 patients. A retrospective analysis was performed of the relationship between the outcome of treatment and age, gender, histological type of the lymphoma, clinical staging according to the original Ann Arbor classification and as modified by Stein and coworkers, functional status according to the ECOG scale, International Prognostic Index, type of lymphoma according to the classification of Kramer, and type of primary therapy. Survival probability was calculated according to Kaplan-Meier.

RESULTS

The results are presented in figures and tables.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The clinical picture of primary gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is unrevealing. Patients usually complain of epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. Clinical symptoms are rarely typical of a systemic disease. 2. Age, gender, functional status, histological type of the lymphoma, and clinical stage do not correlate with treatment outcome and survival. 3. Gastrectomy as the primary method of treatment has no advantage over chemotherapy in terms of treatment outcome and survival.