[Lymphoproliferative diseases of the orbit and appendages of the eye]

The results are available of clinical, morphological, cytological and immunological investigations of orbital lymphomas and lymphomas of appendages of the eye. Malignant lymphoma was detected in 17 patients and reactive lymphoid hyperplasia in 3 patients. All the malignant lymphomas had B-cell phenotype. By cell composition, MALT-lymphoma is more polymorphic than lymphoma from mantle zone cells and lymphoma from small lymphocytes and centro follicular lymphoma. The conjunctive is affected primarily with lymphoma from marginal zone cells or mantle zone cells. As a rule, this is a primary local lesion. Other variants of orbital lymphoma and lymphoma of the eye appendages develop more often as secondary lesions in systemic disease and are characterized by more aggressive course. The key in differential diagnosis of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia and small cells lymphomas is immunophenotyping, especially at initial stages of the tumor process.