Gastric non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Vassilios Tzimourtos^a, Dimitrios Samonakis^a, Maria Tzardi ^b, Ioannis E. Koutroubakis^a

University Hospital Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Departments of ^aGastroenterology (Vassilios Tzimourtos, Dimitrios Samonakis, Ioannis E. Koutroubakis); ^bPathology (Maria Tzardi), University Hospital Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Conflict of Interest: None

Correspondence to: Ioannis E. Koutroubakis MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Heraklion, P.O. BOX 1352, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece, Tel: +30 2810 392253, Fax: +30 2810 542085, e-mail: ikoutroub@med.uoc.gr

Received 20 November 2013; accepted 22 November 2013

A 42-year-old female patient was admitted due to epigastric pain and weight loss. Her past medical history was otherwise negative apart from cigarette smoking. Her physical examination was unremarkable. C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were raised up to 14.8 mg/dL and 51 mm/h respectively, platelets were 453,000, while the remaining laboratory tests were normal.

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a well-defined polypoid mass in the fundus with a diameter of about 2 cm (Fig. 1A). A computed tomography scan followed, showing protruding irregular gastric lesions and a pancreatic mass (Fig. 1B). Histopathological examination of the gastric lesions revealed infiltration of gastric mucosa by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (mitotic index Ki-67 60%) (Fig. 1C). The patient commenced on standard chemotherapy with good response.

Extranodal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) may be initially seen as primary gastrointestinal (GI) lymphoma (rare) or as disseminated nodal disease secondarily involving the GI tract. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common NHL subtype [1]. GI tract and especially the stomach is the most frequent extranodal site in NHL. Endoscopically the secondary gastric NHL might present as polypoid in ulcerative and infiltrative lesions; it can involve all parts of the stomach, usually with multifocal tumors [2,3]. Endoscopists should be aware of the diverse appearance of this neoplasm.

References

1. Shankland KR, Armitage JO, Hancock BW. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Lancet 2012;380:848-857.

2. Kolve M, Fischbach W, Greiner A, Wilms K. Differences in endoscopic and clinicopathological features of primary and secondary gastric non Hodgkin’s lymphoma. German Gastrointestinal Lymphoma Study Group. Gastrointest Endosc 1999;49:307-315.

3. Zepeda-Gomez S, Camacho J, Oviedo-Cardenas E, Lome-Maldonado C. Gastric infiltration of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: endoscopic diagnosis and improvement of lesions after chemotherapy. World J Gastroenterol 2008;14:4407-4409.