Elective splenectomy in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma: Does the size of the spleen affect surgical outcomes?

Objective To discuss the diagnosis and treatment of primary adrenal lymphoma. Methods The clinical data of 7 adrenal primary lymphoma cases were retrospectively analyzed. Five cases were male,2 were female. Age ranged from 33 to 62 years,mean 48 years. Two cases presented with unilateral and 5 cases with bilateral masses. Two cases were found by regular health examination. Two cases had fever and weakness, with body weight loss for 3-4 months. One case had enlarged testis for 1 month. Two cases had lumbar pain accompanied by enlarged spleen. Abdominal ultra-sonography and CT showed adrenal neoplasms. All 7 cases had elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (367-568 U/L, normal range 100-245 U/L) and β2 microglobulin (5.9-6.3 mg/L, normal range 2.4 mg/L). The CT showed irregular,inhomogeneous adrenal mass which was mildly enhanced. Results Four of the 7 patients were misdiagnosed before operation. Two patients were diagnosed as adrenal lymphoma by biopsy. One patient was diagnosed by testicular biopsy. One was T cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Six cases were diagnosed as diffuse large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by pathology. Immunohistochemieally,the tumor cells were positive for CD3,CD45-RO, L26 and CD79a. Four patients had their adrenal mass removed and received chemotherapy afterwards. As follow-up of 2 years, 1 patient had no evidence of recurrence. Three patients died after 2,6,20 months after opera-tion. Three cases took chemotherapy and radiation therapy after diagnosed. They died 19,32, 38 months during follow up. Conclusions Because adrenal mass as the primary representation of prima-ry adrenal lymphoma has no characteristic clinical appearance, diagnosis could not be made preopera-tively. The principal treatment consists of adrenalectomy and adjuvant combination chemotherapy. Key words: Adrenal neoplasms; Lyrnphoma

To characterize the clinical patterns of expression, laboratory serologic parameters and lymphomatous histological characteristics in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) who subsequently developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The authors analyzed 9 pSS patients (8 females, 1 male) who developed NHL. Five patients had received glucocorticoids, four of whom had received at least one immunosuppressive drugs (methotrexate, glucosidorum tripterygll totorum, cyclophosphamide and imuran). A protocol form was used to record the main characteristics of pSS and NHL. Eight patients fulfilled the American-European Consensus Criteria (AECC). The main SS manifestations were painless parotid enlargement (n = 7), six of whom were unilateral; the main immunologic features were positive rheumatoid factor (RF) in all examined patients and hyperimmunoglobulinemia (n = 7). The main manifestations of NHL were splenomegaly (n = 7) and lymphadenopathy (n = 5). The main histological subtypes were mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (n = 4) and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (n = 2). None of the patients with MALT lymphoma had a nodal primary location. Eight patients had an extranodal primary location, most frequently in salivary gland (n = 4) and lung (n = 4). Patients with pSS and NHL are clinically characterized by a high frequency of painless unilateral parotid enlargement, splenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, an immunologic pattern dominated by the presence of high-titer RF and hyperimmunoglobulinemia, a predominance of MALT lymphomas and an elevated frequency of primary extranodal involvement.

A 38-year-old man with diffuse endobronchial infiltration with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is reported. He was admitted to our hospital on November 1990 because of lymph node swelling. Physical examination on admission revealed left axillary, bilateral cervical and inguinal lymph node swelling. Chest and abdominal CT scan showed para-aorta lymph node swelling, mild splenomegaly and heterogeneous density of the liver, although hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy were not found. Microscopic examination of the biopsy specimen obtained from the right inguinal lymph node and liver revealed NHL (B cell lymphoma, diffuse, mixed type). After two courses of chemotherapy, a chest roentgenogram showed bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy and reticular shadows. CT scan demonstrated a thickening of the left main bronchus. Bronchoscopic examination revealed a small submucosal nodule in the left main bronchus on February 1991, from which the biopsy specimen revealed NHL infiltration similar to that of the lymph node. At follow-up bronchoscopic examination, in spite of chemotherapy, scattered NHL infiltration was found in the submucosal space of the left vocal cord, carina and the bifurcation between left upper and lower bronchi. In patients with NHL, endobronchial involvement is rare. In this case, diffuse endobronchial infiltration was not thought to be direct invasion from the lymph node but hematogenous or lymphatic spread to the bronchi.

Unique genomic features in adolescent and young adult, as compared to older adult, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and potential therapeutic targets.

To investigate the feasibility, safety, success rate of diagnosis and possible risk factors of splenectomy for fever of unknown origin (FUO) with splenomegaly. The clinical data of 54 patients of FUO with splenomegaly who underwent splenectomy in Peking Union Medical College Hospital in the past 20 years were reviewed retrospectively. The diagnosis was not clear even after an extensive clinical evaluation before surgery. The pathologic findings, morbidity, mortality and possible risk factors were analyzed. Pathological diagnosis was made in 39 of the 54 patients (72.2%), including 29 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), 4 cases of spleen tuberculosis, 3 cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma, 1 case of Castleman's disease, and 2 cases of hemophagocytic syndrome. Among the 15 cases for whom pathological examination failed to make an confirmed diagnosis were diagnosed as with NHL in 4 cases, Still's diseases in 4 cases, hypersplenism in 2 cases, and lymphoproliferative disease in 2 cases during the follow-up. Operation complications occurred in 25.9% of the patients and 16.7% (9/54) of the patients died within one month after surgery. The mortality of the patients with dropsy of serous cavity was 46.2%, significantly higher than that of the patients without dropsy of serous cavity (7.5%). The mortality of the patients with a spleen heavier than 1500 g was 50.0%, significantly higher than that of the patients with a spleen lighter than 1500 g (11.8%). Complication of dropsy of serous cavity and splenomegaly were relatively independent death influencing factors (RR = 31.7 and 13.4 respectively, and P = 0.004 and 0.021 respectively). There was no significant differences in the mortality rates of the patients with or without jaundice, pancytopenia, elevated SGPT, elevated LDH or duration of the disease (all P > 0.1). Splenectomy is an effective way for the diagnosis of FUO with splenomegaly. Patients with dropsy of serous cavity or a spleen heavier than 1500 g have higher mortality rates.

DNA of a recently described fifth exogenous retrovirus (HRV-5) has been found in blood samples from patients with autoimmune diseases and lymphoma. We analyzed HRV-5 sequence in DNA extracted from whole blood of 17 patients with T cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 186 patients with hematological malignancies other than NHL, using a sensitive PCR technique. While all samples of patients with hematological malignancies other than NHL were negative, 2 of the 17 patients with T cell NHL were HRV-5 DNA positive. Both HRV-5-positive patients had T cell NHL of high-grade malignancy (stage IV) and diffuse distribution of the lymphoma, including infiltration of bone marrow or lung and pleura. The difference in HRV-5 DNA detection frequency between NHL and control groups is significant (p value of 0.0004 judged by the Fisher exact test). These data, together with our previous finding of HRV-5 DNA in three B cell NHL cases, are compatible with an association between HRV-5 and NHL, of both T cell and B cell origin.

We performed a prospective study of the clinical significance of immunophenotype in 110 patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) treated by oncologists in the Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group between October 1982 and May 1986. All patients were immunophenotyped from biopsies performed before therapy was administered. The patients were treated with a uniform protocol of radiotherapy for minimal nonbulky, stage I or II disease (seven patients) or a single, six-drug chemotherapy regimen cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, procarbazine, bleomycin, vincristine, and prednisone (CAP-BOP) in patients with more extensive disease (103 patients). Ninety-one patients (83%) had B-cell lymphoma and 19 patients (17%) had T-cell lymphoma. The histologic diagnosis of diffuse mixed-cell lymphoma was significantly associated with T-cell immunophenotype (45% v 5%; P less than .001), and the diagnosis of diffuse large-cell lymphoma was significantly associated with B-cell immunophenotype (40% v 5%; P = .006). However, no significant difference in frequency of prognostic variables such as age, stage, systemic symptoms, tumor bulk, serum lactic dehydrogenase, or performance status was found between the B-cell and T-cell groups. Patients with B-cell NHL had a slightly higher complete remission rate (74% v 53%; P = NS), similar durability of complete remission (75% v 70% at 3 years; P = NS), and a slightly but not significantly better overall survival (50% v 41% at 3 years; P = NS). The slight advantage in response rate and survival for B-cell patients was related to a very poor outcome for patients with stage IV T-cell NHL. For patients with stage I to III disease, neither the complete remission rate (B-cell, 82% v T-cell, 91%; P = NS) nor overall survival (3-year survival for B cell, 58% v T cell, 73%; P = NS) were significantly different. However, with stage IV disease B-cell patients fared far better than those with T-cell NHL for both complete remission rate (67% v 0%; P = .002) and overall survival (3-year survival, 44% v 0%; P = .002). Immunophenotyping intermediate- and high-grade NHL allowed identification of a subgroup of patients who had a very poor prognosis with this treatment approach and for whom alternate therapy might be considered.

Only 1 to 2% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) present with an enlarged spleen, most of them "small B-cell lymphomas." Recently, several reports have identified these lymphomas as marginal zone B-cell lymphomas. We reviewed 39 cases of NHL presenting with an enlarged spleen without lymphadenopathy, documented by fixed and frozen material. Two were peripheral T-cell lymphomas, four diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, and 14 hairy cell leukemias. The remaining 19 belonged to the "small B-cell" category and constitute the focus of our study. Subtyping was achieved by combining morphology, immunophenotype, and cytogenetic features according to the proposal of the International Lymphoma Study Group; in addition, analysis of the peripheral blood and bone marrow smears was performed adopting the French-American-British (FAB) criteria. From this study, we can conclude that most "small B-cell" NHL of the spleen were either mantle cell lymphomas or marginal zone cell lymphomas and, by peripheral blood analysis, that the mantle cell lymphomas corresponded to intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma and the marginal zone cell lymphomas to splenic lymphomas with villous lymphocytes. As a result, several diagnostic criteria can be proposed that may be helpful in differentiating mantle cell lymphoma from marginal zone cell lymphoma in the spleen.

Radioimmunotherapy of the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas.

The activity of lymphocyte uroporphyrinogen synthase (URO-S) was examined in 51 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients at various follow-up periods. Mean +/- SD activity (pmol porphyrin/mg protein/hr) at diagnosis (n = 24), on relapse (n = 14) and during active disease (n = 14) were 31.7 +/- 19.8, 31.7 +/- 27.2 and 29.4 +/- 18.5, respectively. These values were significantly higher than the enzyme activity during remission (14.1 +/- 4.0), which was in the normal range (14.5 +/- 3.8). Abnormally high activity was found in 65.4% of determinations at diagnosis, on relapse and during active disease, compared to 5.5% during remission (P less than 0.001). Significant association of abnormal URO-S activity was found with advanced clinical stage (P less than 0.01), spleen enlargement (P = 0.048), involvement of bone marrow (P = 0.02), as well as lymphoma cell spread to peripheral blood (P = 0.03). Highly significant correlation (r = 0.65, P less than 0.001) was found between URO-S activity and serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. Excessively high levels of URO-S activity were found only in patients with lymphoma cells in peripheral blood. No association was found with histopathologic classification and liver size. The authors conclude that URO-S activity is a biochemical indicator for patients in all stages of NHL and seems to be a specific marker for the extensiveness of the disease.

A retrospective review of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) who underwent palliative splenectomy for splenomegaly, hypersplenism, or autoimmune complications was done. From 1970 through 1981, 46 patients had palliative splenectomy for splenomegaly alone (n = 3) or various hematologic abnormalities with (n = 35) or without (n = 8) splenomegaly. Splenectomy was performed for life-threatening (n = 7), severe (n = 15), or mild (n = 24) symptoms/signs. The most common hematologic abnormalities were thrombocytopenia (platelet count less than 120,000/mm3; n = 38) and/or anemia (hemoglobin level less than 11.0 g/mm3; n = 29). Response to splenectomy was defined as greater than a threefold increase in preoperative platelet count and/or an increase in hemoglobin levels to greater than 11.0 g/mm3 in the first postoperative month. Four patients with thrombocytopenia did not respond, whereas 33 patients responded with greater than a sevenfold increase in platelet count. All four nonresponders died of complications of thrombocytopenia or progressive disease. Eighteen of 28 (64%) patients with anemia responded to splenectomy. Larger spleens (2000 g versus 1410 g; P less than 0.05) and lower platelet counts (42,000 versus 75,000; P less than 0.05) were found in all nonresponding patients. Responders and nonresponders could not be distinguished on the basis of age, sex, race, duration of disease or splenic involvement, primary site of disease, histopathologic findings, bone marrow or lymphangiogram results, or prior chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Patients with mild symptoms/signs were more likely to respond hematologically than patients with life-threatening or severe symptoms/signs (86% versus 54%; P = 0.06). For all patients, 2- and 5-year survival from the time of splenectomy was 44% and 26%, respectively. Median survival was 18 months (range, 1-144 months). Inability to reverse hematologic abnormalities was associated with poor survival. All nonresponding patients died within 36 months of surgery, whereas 5-year survival in responding patients was 40%. Nine of 30 patients (30%) who responded hematologically survived longer than 5 years, but this group of patients could not be distinguished from the remaining patients on the basis of age, sex, race, duration of disease or splenic involvement, primary site of disease, histopathologic features, bone marrow or lymphangiogram results, or prior chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Surgery was well-tolerated (mortality, 9%; morbidity, 21%). All surgical mortalities and 78% of complications occurred in patients operated on for life-threatening or severe symptoms/signs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has shown a dramatic increase, concurrent with the epidemic of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In terms of surgical intervention, management of the patient with AIDS-NHL remains unclear. Purpose of this paper was to determine the role and outcome of surgical intervention in patients with AIDS-NHL of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Data were obtained by retrospective chart review. From 1980 to 1993, charts of 22 patients with diagnosis of AIDS-NHL of the GI tract who underwent either biopsy or surgical procedure were reviewed. All patients were male, with a mean age of 35.7 years. Sixty-seven biopsies were performed in the 22 patients identified. No morbidity or mortality was associated with any of the biopsy procedures. Major intra-abdominal operations were performed in eight patients, including seven who underwent primary resections of lymphomas. Mean survival for the group as a whole was 18 months, although that for the seven patients undergoing resection was 20.4 months. Diagnosis of AIDS-NHL of the GI tract should not discourage performance of otherwise appropriate surgical procedures.

Race, gender, and language concordance in the care of surgical patients: A systematic review

BackgroundOsteoporosis is one of the most important risk factors for failure of the spine instrumentation. Management of patients with osteoporosis who requires spinal surgery because of the difficulty in instrument placement and the potential complications is still a challenge. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical outcome of lumbar spinal canal stenosis after instrumentation in patients with and without osteoporosis.MethodsThis prospective cohort study was performed from June 2018 to December 2020, in Be'sat Hospital, Hamadan, Iran. The sample consisted of patients over 50 years old referred to Be'sat Hospital with a diagnosis of lumbar spinal canal stenosis who underwent instrumental surgery (n = 107). Based on bone densitometry, the sample was divided into two groups with osteoporosis (n = 34) and without osteoporosis (n = 73). To collect data, we used a three-part researcher-made questionnaire (demographic information, medical records information, and paraclinical parameters). Statistical analyzes were performed by the Fisher Exact, chi-square, independent t-test, Multiple ANCOVA, Mann–Whitney and the Rank Wilcoxson tests using Stata version 17 software.ResultsThe mean age (SD) of patients in the two groups with and without osteoporosis was 67.9 (7.0) and 59.1 (5.1) years, respectively (p = 0.001). The results indicated that a significant difference was observed between the two groups in sex (p = 0.032), educational status (p = 0.001), marital status (p = 0.023), employment status (p = 0.004), menopausal status (p = 0.018), taking corticosteroids (p = 0.028), and body mass index (p = 0.015). Also, there was a significant difference between two groups in the loosening of instrument (p = 0.039), the postoperative pain intensity (p = 0.007), fusion (p = 0.047), and neurogenic claudication (p = 0.003). Based on multiple ANCOVA test, there was not a significant difference between two groups in the clinical and paraclinical charatecristics (p > 0.05). The mean (SD) of T-Score in the osteoporosis group was 3.06 (0.37).ConclusionThis study provides evidence that there is no significant difference in the clinical outcomes of lumbar spine instrumentation due to spinal canal stenosis in patients with and without osteoporosis. Because of the high cost of specific instrumentation developed for patients with osteoporosis and their unavailability, it seems that the use of conventional instrumentation along with complete treatment of osteoporosis can help improve the clinical outcome of surgery in these patients.

Post-operative morbidity and mortality in pancreatic surgery. The role of surgical Apgar score