STRATEGY FOR THE TREATMENT OF GASTRIC MALIGNANT LYMPHOMA ACCORDING TO THE CLINICAL STAGES

Abstract

Between April 1980 and December 1994, 20 patients with gastric malignant lymphoma were treated in Tsukuba university hospital. All of the Ann Arbor IE patients (9 cases) received gastric resection as the initial treatment, and have been free of relapse. Four patients in Ann Arbor stage IIE were also resected initially; two patients died of lymphoma, and another two patients received Cis-VACD, THP-CVP chemotherapy for the residual lymphoma, which resulted in complete remission. Ann Arbor stage III and IV patients were initially treated by combination chemotherapy. Three patients with complete response and two patients with partial response subsequently received gastric resection. The former three patients have been in complete remission. However, the latter two patients had a recurrence and died of lymphoma. We propose that patients with Ann Arbor stage IE gastric malignant lymphoma should be treated by operation alone, and Ann arbor stage IIE or more patients by chemotherapy as the initial treatment.