title: Primary gastrointestinal lymphoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Extranodal lymphoma may arise anywhere outside lymph nodes mostly in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract as non-Hodgkin's disease. We reviewed the clinicopathological features and treatment results of patients with primary GI lymphoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total number of 30 cases with primary GI lymphoma were included in this study. Patients referred to the Radiation Oncology Department of Omid Hospital (Mashhad, Iran) during a 5-year period (2006-11). Clinical, paraclinical, and radiological data was collected from medical records of the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the 30 patients with primary GI lymphoma in the study, 12 were female (40%) and 18 were male (60%) (male to female ratio: 3/2). B symptoms were present in 27 patients (90%). Antidiuretic hormone (LDH) levels were elevated in 9 patients (32.1%). The most common primary site was stomach in 14 cases (46.7%). Other common sites included small intestine and colon each in 8 patients (26.7%). All patients had histopathologically proven non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The most common histologic subtype was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBL) in 16 patients (53.3%). In addition, 28 patients (93.3%) received chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, prednisolone (CHOP regimen). The median course of chemotherapy was 6 cources. Moreover, 8 patients (26.7%) received radiotherapy with cobalt 60. The median follow-up time was 26 months. The overall 5-year survival rate was 53% and the median survival time was 60 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Primary GI lymphoma is commonly seen in stomach and small intestine and mostly is DLBCL or mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, Omid Hospital, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aledavood
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza Ghavam
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Nasiri
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Memar
authors.forename: Soodabeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahidsales
authors.forename: Hamid Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Raziee
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ghafarzadegan
authors.forename: Samira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohtashami
keywords: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma; Extranodal Lymphoma; Primary Gastrointestinal Lymphoma