[Endoscopic aspects of primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the stomach].

The introduction of endoscopy has led to a striking improvement in the diagnosis of primary non-Hodgkin gastric lymphomas due to the possibility of viewing the lesions directly and performing histological and cytological biopsies. Endoscopic findings are however polymorphous and may present difficulties of interpretation. The aim of this study was to re-examine the endoscopic data in 40 cases (25 M and 15 F) of gastric lymphoma observed during the period 1983-1990. There were three main endoscopic findings: ulcerated lesions (55%), infiltrating lesions (40%) and polypoid lesions (5%). In 75% of cases the biopsies carried out during the course of endoscopic examination were positive for lymphoma; in 7.5% of cases histological diagnosis was made using macrobiopsies carried out using a diathermic loop whereas in 17.5% it was made during the course of laparotomy. It may be possible to make further progress towards an early diagnosis following the introduction of echoendoscopy which will allow an in-depth evaluation of lesions and the involvement of lymph node stations and nearby organs.