Gastrointestinal lymphoma: recent advances in diagnosis and treatment

The recent trends in the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal lymphoma are reviewed. Primary gastrointestinal lymphoma accounts for 30-40% of all extranodal lymphomas, while it comprises only 1-8% of all gastrointestinal malignancies. The most common histological type is mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, followed by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Recently, the incidence of intestinal follicular lymphoma has been increasing. Balloon-assisted endoscopy and capsule endoscopy are essential tools for the assessment of small bowel lymphomas. Treatment modalities for gastrointestinal lymphomas include 'watch and wait' strategy, antibiotics (e.g., Helicobacter pylori eradication), radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgical resection, immunotherapy (e.g. rituximab), and combinations of these. Optimal therapeutic strategies should be determined based on the involved site, histological type, and clinical stage. It should be noted that accurate pretreatment diagnosis of the disease is most important.