title: Surgical resection combined with chemotherapy can help achieve better outcomes in patients with primary colonic lymphoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The colon is a rare location for gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We retrospectively analyzed the demographic data of patients with colonic lymphoma and the possible prognostic factors of the disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied data obtained from 6,944 patients and performed a retrospective review of patients with primary colonic lymphoma (PCL) by using a pathology registry database. We employed well-established and accepted diagnostic criteria and clinical staging method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-nine patients (19 men; 10 women) were diagnosed with PCL. The cecum was the most common tumor location (14/29 patients), and 17 cases (17/29) showed diffuse large-B-cell lymphomas. Four patients died of sepsis within 30 days of an emergency surgery for perforation of intestine. Two-thirds of the patients were in the early disease stages (stages I and II). The overall 5-year survival rate was 47.3%. Disease stage was not a prognostic factor for survival. The overall 5-year survival rate in patients treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy was statistically significant as compared to that in the patients treated with chemotherapy alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCL is a rare malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract, and surgical resection should be considered a part of the standard treatment to achieve a better outcome.
authors.affiliation: Division of Colon & Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Jen-Kou
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Wen-Yih
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Yu-Chung
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Shih-Ching
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult