Diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.
BACKGROUND
Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in lung is very rare, and the most common among them is mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALToma), whose clinical features and laboratory characteristics are poorly defined, making diagnosis difficult. The purpose of this study was to study the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary MALToma.


METHODS
The clinical data of 12 patients treated for MALToma between August 1992 and December 2005 were analyzed.


RESULTS
No specific symptoms or signs, or results of bronchoscopy, ultrasonagraphy or bone marrow examination could be found in the 12 patients. Only radiography was useful in diagnosis, though the final diagnosis of all the patients was based on histology and immunohistochemistry. Two patients also had gastric MALToma. Operations were performed on 6 patients, including 5 radical operations and 1 partial resection: 4 patients also received adjuvant chemotherapy. One patient experienced recurrence 152 months after the operation, while the other 5 patients have survived disease-free. Four patients were treated with chemotherapy alone, two of whom experienced complete remission and the others partial remission. The final 2 patients received no treatment and had survived for 7 and 27 months respectively. All the patients were still alive at the most recent follow-up, 7 to 160 months (mean 71.3 months).


CONCLUSIONS
Except radiography, no specific clinical manifestations could be identified for pulmonary MALToma. The final diagnosis should be based on histology and immunohistochemistry. Several treatment methods can be used to achieve good outcomes.
Xu
He-Yun
HY
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. xuheyun1964@163.com
Jin
Tao
T
Li
Ren-Yuan
RY
Ni
Yi-Ming
YM
Zhou
Jian-Ying
JY
Wen
Xiao-Hong
XH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018442:Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome