[The importance of endoscopy in the diagnosis of malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the stomach].

Four patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the stomach are presented. In 3 of the patients the localization of the lymphoma was considered primary and in the fourth patient it was considered secondary. The diagnosis was made on clinical, laboratory and instrumental data and had been confirmed histologically and in 3 of the patients also surgically. The importance of endoscopy for the diagnosis of gastric malignant lymphomas is emphasized and the most frequent changes of the gastric mucosa which direct the attention toward the disease are pointed out. Most important for the timely diagnosis of gastric malignant lymphoma are the gastroscopic follow-up of patients presenting with atypical macroscopic changes, the guided biopsies and the close collaboration between endoscopists and pathomorphologists.