Primary bone lymphoma: a series from a cancer institute in Pakistan

Primary bone lymphoma (PBL) is an uncommon tumour. Numerous studies have been reported from Western countries, but none from Southeast Asia. We reviewed a series of seven consecutive patients diagnosed and treated with PBL at our hospital between March 2002 and January 2007. All patients underwent chemotherapy with half receiving radiotherapy as their initial treatment. Six (84%) patients were male and 1 (16%) female with a median age of 33 (range: 23-85). All had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of bone except one (85 - M) who had chest wall cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with iliac blade involvement. The femur was the most frequently involved site (43%). Except for three patients that involved the lymph nodes, all patients had disease limited to bone. The 5-year overall survival rate was 43%. Although the number of patients was small, the data presented here revealed several characteristics of PBL.