Current treatment of gastrointestinal lymphomas

The most common extranodal site involved by lymphoma is the gastrointestinal tract. The majority of extranodal lymphoma cases are of the non-Hodgkin subtype. Usually, the involvement of the gastrointestinal tract by nodal lymphomas is secondary, the primary gastrointestinal localisation is rather rare. The most common pathological types are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas and extranodal marginal zone lymphomas of the mucosa-associated tissue (MALT) subtype. Although the primary gastrointestinal lymphoma can involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract, the stomach is the most frequently involved site. The treatment and prognosis are determinated primarily by the histologic type of lymphoma, the stage of disease and the patient’s age and general condition. Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is one of the major risk factors for gastric lymphomas, the presence or abscence of which radically infl uences the effectivity of treatment. In case of HP positivity, HP eradication itself can result in complete remission. In most cases the treatment is immuno- and/or combination chemotherapy, which is performed according to the internationally accepted protocols, specifi c to the type of lymphoma. Radiotherapy plays a lesser role in the treatment of GI lymphomas, while surgery is performed almost only in complicated cases, such as haemorrhage, occlusion or perforation.