[Primary malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas of the digestive tract: the role of surgery].

: Forty-two patients with non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma (NHML) of the gastrointestinal tract were operated on between 1971 and 1989. NHML was located in the stomach in 23 (55%), in the small bowel in 16 (38%), and in the colon in 3 (7%). One-fourth of patients were hospitalized with an acute abdomen and had to undergo emergency surgery. Preoperative diagnosis was obtained in 40% of cases only. Since 1986, however, and thanks to immunohistochemistry, gastroscopy was able to diagnose gastric NHML in 10 of 11 cases. Twenty-six patients (62%) underwent curative surgery. Operative mortality was 11.9%, 42% in case of emergency surgery, but mortality was nil after elective procedures. Half the patients had no further treatment. Five-year survival was 67%. Except for the mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) tumors, histopathological characteristics had less influence on prognosis than expected. On the other hand, prognosis was significantly better after curative surgery (p less than 0.001).