Clinicopathologic characteristics and therapeutic outcomes of primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: 10 years of experience from a single center in eastern Anatolia.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this retrospective study was to report the clinicopathological data and the treatment outcomes in patients with primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We carried out a retrospective analysis of 41 patients (22 females, 18 males, median age 58 and range 18-90 years) who presented to our department with histopathological diagnosis of primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma between 1995 and 2004.

RESULTS

The stomach was the most common extranodal site and was seen in 25 of 41 (61%) patients. At presentation 28 (68.3%) patients had gastrointestinal symptoms while 27 (65.9%) had B symptoms. The range of follow-up was 2-84 months with a median of 9 months. The overall survival rate was 3 years for 25 (61.2%) patients. The 3-year overall survival rate was better in patients with early-stage disease (stages I and II(1)) who were treated with surgery plus chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy than in those treated with chemotherapy alone (91.6 vs. 50%, p < 0.05). The disease had a significant impact on both the progression-free survival and overall survival rates.

CONCLUSION

Our data showed that surgical resection prior to postoperative chemotherapy was a better option for patients with early-stage disease with better patient survival.