Objective To investigate the clinical features of non-gastrointestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue ( MALT) lymphoma.
Methods Forty-eight pathologically proved cases of nongastrointestinal MALT lymphoma, admitted into Peking Union Medical College Hospital fromJanuary 2000 to July 2011, were retrospectively analyzed.
Results There were 32 females and 16 males. The median age at diagnosis was 55. 4 years old ( range, 21-76 years) . The most commonly affected sites were lung, salivary glands, thyroid and ocular adnexa. In5 cases, the lymphoma presented at multiple mucosal sites. 27 patients were asymptomatic while 13 had non-specific symptoms. Blood test showed mild or moderate anemia in 8 cases, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate in 19 cases, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase in 6 patients.Imaging examinations revealed enlarged lymph nodes in 20 patients. 6 patients had a history of Sjoren’s syndrome, in whom3 cases were salivary gland diseases. In the patients with lung involvement, pathological diagnosis was obtained by bronchial biopsies in 3 cases, by CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsies in 11 cases, and by surgical biopsies in 9 cases. While in the patients without lung involvement, pathological diagnosis was obtained all by surgical biopsies. Of the 23 patients with lung involvement, 1 remain untreated,while 22 received various combinations of treatment ( surgery alone in 3 patients, surgery plus chemotherapy in 6 patients, and chemotherapy alone in 13 patients) . Of the 25 patients without lung involvement, 11 patients received surgery alone, 10 patients received surgery plus chemotherapy, 3 patients received chemotherapy alone, and 1 patient received surgery plus chemotherapy and radiotherapy. 46 patients remained alive during the median follow-up of 46. 7 months ( range, 4-133 months) . While 1 patient with lung involvement died from unknown causes, another 1 patient with lung involvement died from lung infection.
Conclusions Non-gastrointestinal MALT lymphoma tends to occur in old-aged females, and commonly occurs in lung, salivary gland and thyroid sites. Most patients are asymptomatic or have only nonspecific symptoms. CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsies and surgical biopsies are helpful to the diagnosis.Prognosis for this lymphoma tends to be indolent.
Citation: JIANG Chunguo,HUANG Hui,LIU Jia,WANG Yanxun,LI Ji,XU Kai,XUZuojun.. Clinical Analysis of Non-gastrointestinal MALT Lymphoma in48 Patients. Chinese Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2013, 12(2): 163-166. doi: DOI: 10 . 7507 /1671 -6205 . 20130038 Copy