Malignant lymphoma with primary presentation in the spleen. A study of 20 patients.

We describe 20 adult patients with malignant lymphoma with primary presentation in the spleen. The most common presenting symptoms were fever, malaise, and weight loss. Physical examination revealed prominent splenomegaly without palpable lymphadenopathy. Small lymphocytic lymphoma was the most frequent histologic type (11/20), followed by large cell lymphoma and mixed cell lymphoma (3/20 each). Bone marrow involvement was found in ten of 17 patients. At laparotomy, lymph node involvement, usually retroperitoneal, was found in six of 13 patients. There was liver involvement in seven of 15 patients. Follow-up has been relatively short, with an average of 24 months (range, one to 48 months). Four patients died as a result of progressive disease, one died of sepsis after splenectomy, and one died two years after diagnosis of a stroke. The prognosis in primary splenic lymphoma appears to be similar to that in nodal lymphoma.