Primary nasopharyngeal non Hodgkin lymphoma: A retrospective investigation of 26 patients

Abstract

e19552 Background: Primary nasopharyngeal non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NNHL) was uncommon. In this retrospective study we report our experience dealing with this disease at the National Institute of Oncology. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed various characteristics of Primary NNHL: patient demographics, clinical and histological diagnosis, disease stage, treatment effects and outcome, in 26 patients treated at our institution between January 2001 and December 2007. Results: The average age of our patients was 52.7 years (range: 31 - 87 years). The male/female ratio was equal to 1.5/1. The major symptoms at first diagnosis were: nasal obstruction (88.6%), hypoacousia (88.4%), epistaxis (33.3%) and rhinorrhea (15.3%). Clinical examination founded bilateral cervical lymph nodes in 17 cases (65%). Histological analysis showed follicular lymphoma in 7 cases (26.9%), large B-cell lymphoma in 11 cases (42,3%) and T lymphoma in 4 cases ( 15,3%). Four (15.4%) of the patients were at stage I, 15 (57.6%) were at stage II, and 7 (27%) were at stage III/IV. At early stage, the patients were managed with chemo-radiotherapy and were managed with CHOP based chemotherapy at advanced stage. At the end of total treatment, 18 patients (69.2%) achieved complete response and remained disease free while 4 (15.4%) achieved partial response (>70%) and 4 (15.4%) were progressive (these patients received second line chemotherapy). After 110 months median flow-up, median disease free and overall survival were not reached. Overall, the treatment was well tolerated. Conclusions: From our study and from the literature, we conclude that histological characteristics, principle of treatment and outcome of primary NNHL patients are similar to that of patients with nodal lymphoma. No significant financial relationships to disclose.