Surgical treatment of gastrointestinal B-cell mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas.

We retrospectively evaluated clinicopathologic features of 35 patients treated for primary gastrointestinal lymphomas of MALT type (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue) between 1970 and 1993. Fourteen patients (40%) were treated for acute abdominal conditions (bowel obstruction in 8, perforation in 2, and gastrointestinal bleeding in 4), and the rest had exploratory laparotomy. The tumor was located in the stomach in 23 patients (66%), in the jejunum and ileum in 10 (29%), and in the large intestine in 2 (6%). The type of operation was defined according to site and extent of disease. Most patients received chemotherapy postoperatively. Staging was done according to the Ann Arbor classification. Survival depended on stage and extension of the disease; 5-year survival was 45%. Surgical resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is warranted when the patient is considered to be a surgical candidate.