Gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin lymphomas

Although gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the most common extranodal site involved in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), primary gastrointestinal NHL (gNHL) is a rare problem which concerns about 10-15% of NHL patients and 30-40% of extranodal NHL patients. Lymphoid neoplasms may consist of mature B, T and (less commonly) extranodal NK/T cells. The most common diagnoses are diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma (MALT), but many other lymphomas may be found in the GI tract. There are a few well-known risk factors of gNHL and some of them affect treatment. The most frequent sites of occurrence are the stomach followed by small intestine and ileocecal region. In the last 2 decades, there has been a rapid development in the diagnosis, staging and management of GI lymphoma, but still some of such lymphomas, especially T-cell ones, are a therapeutic challenge. In this review, we present clinical and pathological features of GI lymphomas. We also describe the current status in diagnosis and treatment.