Lymphoproliferative diseases of the ocular adnexa in Korea

To evaluate the clinical features, treatments, and outcomes of patients with ocular lymphoproliferative disease classified according to the World Health Organization classification and to determine prognostic factors of this disease in South Korea.

Between March 1, 1995, and December 31, 2005, 128 cases of patients with ocular lymphoid tumors treated at the Samsung Medical Center were retrospectively reviewed.

The mean patient age was 46.3 years (range, 1-87 years). The major histopathologic subtypes were mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma in 96 patients (75.0%), lymphoid hyperplasia in 11 (8.6%), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in 6 (4.7%), and mantle cell lymphoma in 4 (3.1%). Ocular lymphoproliferative lesions were located in the conjunctiva (53 patients), the eyelid (33 patients), and the orbit (42 patients). Twenty patients had tumor relapses (15.6%), and 9 died of lymphoma during follow-up (7.0%). Regarding the analysis of prognostic factors, most patients with MALT lymphoma evidenced local disease, required local treatment, and exhibited a superior prognosis.

Lymphomas of the MALT type constitute most ocular adnexal lymphoproliferative diseases and occur more frequently in South Korea than in Western countries. Patients with MALT lymphoma have favorable outcomes compared with patients with other types of lymphoma.