ON THE DIAGNOSIS OF MALIGNANT LYMPHOMA OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT

Abstract

During a 5-year period 20% of all malignant tumors removed from the stomach and nearly 50% of those from the small intestine were malignant lymphomas. Incidence of lymphomas of the colon was numerically and proportionately low. Preoperative diagnosis of gastrointestinal lymphoma requires careful correlation of clinical, radiologic, and laboratory data to be successful in a reasonable proportion of cases. Symptoms include epigastric pain, anorexia, nausea and vomiting without signs of obstruction, slight to moderate weight loss, presence of a palpable mass, little or no anemia, and roentgen evidence of a large, inflamed tumor.