[Endoscopic aspects of malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas of the stomach]

Malignant lymphomas of the stomach are rare. They occur in only 1-10% of all malignancies of the stomach. They are mainly non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Due to the rarity of the illness, the different therapy and the better prognosis, it is very important to know the appearance of the lesions in order to distinguish them from stomach cancer. Endoscopic photographs of five different cases with four primary and one secondary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the stomach are demonstrated and related to the classification of the macroscopic forms of sarcomas first described by Palmer in 1950 which was later confirmed for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas by Friedman. With the aid of typical endoscopic pictures we intend to make the primary unspecific changes of the mucosa of the stomach better recognizable. This is of particular importance in present times, where gastroscopic examinations are being performed to a greater extent outside endoscopic centers.