Patients with celiac disease and B-cell lymphoma have a better prognosis than those with T-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Celiac disease (CD) is associated with an increased risk of lymphoma. However, relatively few studies have assessed the outcome of patients diagnosed with both CD and lymphoma. We evaluated the temporal association between lymphoma and CD, along with clinical presentation, response to therapy, and prognosis.

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with both CD and lymphoma were identified retrospectively in a tertiary referral center. Clinical characteristics and survival were analyzed.

RESULTS

Sixty-three patients (36 men) were identified who had been diagnosed with lymphoma and CD. Thirty-six (57%) were diagnosed with CD before they were diagnosed with lymphoma. The most common histologic entity was diffuse, large, B-cell lymphoma, which affected 18 (29%) patients. Complete information for staging was available in 59 patients; 24 (38%) had stage IV disease. Only chemotherapy or only radiation therapy was used for 43 (68%) and 11 (17%) patients, respectively. The 5- and 10-year cumulative survival rates for the entire cohort were 58% and 39%, respectively. Survival of patients with T-cell lymphoma was shorter than for all other lymphomas (119.4 vs 22.8 mo; P = .02).

CONCLUSIONS

CD is associated with B- and T-cell lymphomas. Patients with B-cell lymphomas had a better prognosis than those with T-cell lymphoma. Therapy is unsatisfactory for enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma.