Primary lymphoma of respiratory system (A report of 11 cases)

Objective: To analyze the clinical and pathologic features and the treatment outcomes of primary lymphoma of respiratory system (PLRS). Methods: The clinical manifestation, imaging changes, pathologic subtypes, treatment and overall survival of 11 patients with PLRS were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Of the 11 patients diagnosed with PLRS by histopathology, the tumor of 2 patients occurred in trachea and the other 9 in lung. Cough, dyspnea and fever were the most frequent symptoms. Mass or infiltrative changes could be found on the chest X-ray and/or CTscan. Two patients were diagnosed as having Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) and 9 having non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), including 7 patients with low degree NHL [5 of them (55.6%) were mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma] and 2 with intermediate degree NHL. Of 10 patients undergoing exploratory thoracotomy and surgical treatment, 8 received adjuvant chemotherapy and 2 adjuvant of radiotherapy. The remaining patient was subjected to combined chemotherapy. Both of HL patients survived more than 5 years without clinical disease. The median survival of MALT lymphoma and other type of NHL was 39 months and 34 months respectively. Conclusion: Both the clinical manifestation and imaging changes are non-specific. The diagnosis was made through exploratory thoracotomy (10 cases) and fiber-optical bronchoscopy (1 case). MALT lymphoma is the most frequent pathologic subtype. Majority of patients are diagnosed and treated by surgical resection. The prognosis is acceptable.