Multicentric Study of Clinicopathological Features of Primary Gastrointestinal Lymphoma of Iran: from 2011 - 2016

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the most common site for extranodal lymphoma. The primary GI lymphoma pattern in Iran is different from western countries and has been changed during the past 40 years. Objectives: This study was done to determine the clinical and pathological characteristics of primary GI lymphoma in Tehran, Hamedan, and Mashhad regions in Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional comparative-descriptive study, 200 patients with primary GI lymphoma in Tehran, Hamadan, and Mashhad regions from 2011 to 2016 were enrolled in a consecutive manner, where the clinical and pathological characteristics of cases were determined.[Results]Among 200 patients, 141 (70.5%) subjects were male and 59 (29.5%) subjects were female. The mean age at diagnosis was 54.3 ± 19.3 years. Also, 84%, 8.5%, and 7.5% of the patients’ specimens were from Tehran, Hamedan, and Mashhad, respectively. The stomach was the principal involved location in approximately half of the cases. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), was the main subtype that was observed in 64% of the cases. Treatment in 72% of cases was a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. The 5-year survival was assessed in 147 patients with a rate of 68%. Conclusions: Primary GI lymphoma is seen more in male subjects younger than 60 years of age with non-specific symptoms. Also, DLBCL and MALToma are the main histologic types, and the 5-year survival for all cases is 68.0%. The clinical symptoms showed no specific pattern and accordingly, patients with weight loss and abdominal pain should be considered in in differential diagnosis of malignant lymphoma.