Primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A review of 36 cases.

A retrospective study was made of 36 patients with primary gastrointestinal (GI) non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), of which 16 occurred in stomach, 14 in small intestine, 3 in ileocecal region and 3 in large intestine. The mean age was 57 years. According to the 'Working Formulation' large cell lymphomas were most common. All patients were surgically explored, 27 undergoing resection and 9 laparotomy with biopsy. Radiotherapy was given to 14 patients and 27 received chemotherapy. Patients with stomach as the primary site had a slightly better outlook than patients with intestinal tumors. In patients with stage I and II disease the group which had been resected and received both radiation treatment and chemotherapy had the best prognosis with a 3-year survival of 76%. The material also indicates that radiotherapy is of value for GI-NHL in stage I or II.