DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF GASTROINTESTINAL LYMPHOMAS

Abstract

The recent progress in the clinical diagnosis and treatment strategy in patients with gastrointestinal lymphoma is reviewed. Among all gastrointestinal lymphomas, the most frequent histologic type is mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, followed by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Recently, the incidence of intestinal follicular lymphoma has been increasing. Balloon-assisted endoscopy and/or capsule endoscopy are essential tools for the diagnosis of small bowel lymphomas. Significant correlation is observed between the macroscopic forms and histologic types both in gastric lymphomas and in intestinal lymphomas. There are various therapeutic modalities including watchful waiting, antibiotics (such as Helicobacter pylori eradication), chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgical resection, rituximab immunotherapy, and combinations of these. The optimal strategy should be determined based on the involved site, histologic type and clinical stage in each patient.