Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of gastro-intestinal tract: actual diagnosis and treatment options

Abstract

Background. The gastrointestinal tract is the most common primary localization for extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, accounting for 20 to 40% of all extranodal malignant lymphomas. Approximately in 60-75% of cases, the primary tumor site occurs in the stomach, develops on a Background. of chronic inflammatory processes. Objective(s). The aim of this descriptive research was to identify the current diagnostic patterns and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment options for extranodal gastrointestinal NHL. Materials and methods. The study included 50 patients with NHL of the gastrointestinal tract, who were treated in the Institute of Oncology from the Republic of Moldova, in the period between 2000-2022, aged by 21 to 78 years (average age - 49 years). The study results were processed via computerized option using the Microsoft Excel program. Results. The age group of 50 to 69 years prevailed for both sexes and constituted 64% of cases. The majority of patients (22 persons, or 44%) were diagnosed with stage IV disease. The predominance of diffuse large B cell lymphomas (72%) was observed. Clinical signs were related to the organ in which the tumor first formed but proved to be without any specific patterns. Complete response (CR) was achieved in all patients (100%) with in stage IE. In stage II E, it was much lower - 43%. The rate of CR reached 25% in patients with stage III and IV. The overall survival of patients after 1 year was 78.1%, after 3 years - 59.4% and after 5 years - 61.9%. Conclusion(s). Generalized and aggressive NHL prevailed in our study. The response to treatment mainly depended on the stage of the disease. Under R-COP and R-CHOP chemotherapy, the overall survival of patients with stage IIIE and IV LNH was 75.1% after 1 year, 59.4% within 3 years, and 28.5% - within 5 years.