Malignant lymphomas of Waldeyer's ring: natural history and survival after radiotherapy

The natural history of 292 consecutive cases of reticulum cell sarcoma and lymphosarcoma of Waldeyer's ring and the survival rate after radiotherapy are reported. In our institute since 1928 from 30 to 35% of pharyngeal neoplasms have been lymphomas, and of these 55% have been reticulum cell sarcomas, 21% lymphosarcomas, and 1% Hodgkin's disease. This high incidence may probably be ascribed to the fact that in all malignant lymphomas, irrespective of the clinical presentation, a systematic biopsy of the whole Waldeyer's ring was carried out. Pharyngeal lymphomas were confined to Waldeyer's ring in 19.6% of cases, with initial spread to contiguous cervical nodes in 43.8%, to distant nodes in 24.2%, and to extranodal tissues in 12.4%. Lymphography showed abnormal retroperitoneal lymph nodes in 38.3% of cases. There was gastrointestinal involvement either initially or later in 17.6% of cases. High-energy radiation therapy to both sides of the neck was the treatment of choice for local and regional disease. It achieved a five-year survival rate of 41.9% in the group of 97 patients treated during the past decade. The incidence of relapse (recurrence and new manifestations) was highest in the first year after treatment.