Effect of Clinical, Endoscopic, Radiological Findings, and Complications on Survival in Patients with Primary Gastrointestinal Lymphoma.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical, endoscopic, and radiological characteristics, complications, survival outcomes, and prognostic factors of patients with primary gastrointestinal lymphoma.

METHODS

This study retrospectively analyzed the demographic, laboratory, endoscopic, and radiological characteristics and treatment outcomes of 43 patients with newly diagnosed primary gastrointestinal lymphoma.

RESULTS

The median age was 62 years (range: 26-83). The primary lesion location was the gastric in 33 (77%) patients and the intestinal in 10 (23%) patients. The most common lesions were the corpus (33%) and corpus+antrum (24%) in primary gastric lymphoma and the ileum (60%) in primary intestinal lymphoma. The most common endoscopic findings were diffuse infiltrative lesion (23%) and massforming (33%), while the most common computed tomography finding was wall thickening (53%). Wall thickening and mass-forming at computed tomography were greater in primary intestinal lymphoma than in primary gastric lymphoma (P = .034). Complications were observed in 9 (21%) patients and 13 (31%) patients who underwent surgery. Complication and surgery rates were higher in primary intestinal lymphoma than in primary gastric lymphoma (P = .003 and P = .014, respectively). Five-year overall survival and 5-year eventfree survival rates were 75% and 72%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that intestinal involvement, advanced clinical stage, a high International Prognostic Index score, mass-forming and wall thickening at computed tomography, extranodal involvement, and complication were found to adversely affect survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that intestinal involvement and a high International Prognostic Index score were independent prognostic factors for overall survival and event-free survival.

CONCLUSION

Patients with primary gastrointestinal lymphoma with intestinal involvement and high International Prognostic Index score should be followed closely.