Malignant lymphoma of the uterus. Report of seven cases with immunohistochemical study.

Abstract

Uterine lymphoma is a rare disease; therefore, information regarding histologic type, immunophenotype of tumor cells, and etiologic factors are limited. Seven patients with uterine lymphoma, three from the corpus and four from the cervix, were collected by a nationwide study in Japan. Selection of cases was preferentially made from the "Annual of Pathologic Autopsy Cases in Japan." All cases with cervical lymphoma presented with vaginal bleeding. Abdominal pain or backache was observed in patients with corpus lymphoma. The age ranges of patients with corpus and cervical lymphomas were 46-78 years of age (mean, 63 years) and 30-71 years of age (mean, 53 years), respectively. Information about clinical staging was available for six patients; two patients with Stage I, three patients with Stage II, and one patient with Stage III. A definite diagnosis of uterine lymphoma was made by biopsy in all cases. Total hysterectomy, with or without bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, was carried out in three patients, and tumor resection was carried out in one patient. Adjuvant therapy was given in six cases. Follow-up showed that five patients died due to tumor within 1 year of treatment. Histologically, all cases were non-Hodgkin lymphoma showing a diffuse pattern of proliferation. All but one were diffuse large cell type. Immunohistochemistry revealed the tumor cells in all cases were of B-cell nature. Expression of HLA-DR antigen was evaluable in four cases, of these three showed an increased expression on the vascular endothelium. Uterine lymphoma comprises exclusively B-cell type.