[Two cases of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma]

We report 2 cases of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (BALT lymphoma), which is a rare disease. Patient 1 was a 76-year-old woman with a chief complaint of cough. Since plain chest radiography revealed an abnormal shadow in the hilum of the lung, she visited our hospital. Patient 2 was a 56-year-old man, who had been diagnosed as having pseudolymphoma at a medical check-up in a local hospital. During follow-up, however, he was referred to our hospital because of enlarged tumors and chest pain. In both patients, bronchofiberscopy demonstrated submucosal tumors and biopsy samples showed formation of lymphoepithelial lesions by centrocyte-like cells with a B-cell staining pattern. The patients were therefore diagnosed as having BALT lymphoma. Both received CEOP-E treatment, which improved the clinical symptoms but did not result in complete remission. The patients have been followed up after discontinuation of the medication. The progress of the disease has been slow, and both patients are alive as of September 2001.