Malignant lymphoma of the large intestine--operative results in Japan

One hundred thirty cases of primary malignant lymphoma of the large intestine in Japan were studied with regard to operative results. The averaged age was 52.6 years and most of the patients were men. Sites of the tumor were the cecum (71.5 per cent), rectum (16.9 per cent) and the ascending colon (6.2 per cent). Surgery was performed for 129 (99.2 per cent) of the 130, of which 71 (55 per cent) were curatively resected. Surgical procedures were mostly Miles operation and the others were anterior resections and hemicolectomies. Postoperative 5 and 10 year survival rates were 34.8 per cent and 33.2 per cent respectively, and the rates after curative resection were 44.2 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. Prognoses were better when the tumor was of 5 cm or less in diameter, intraluminal and without lymph node metastasis. Classified histologically, most of the tumors were of histiocytic type, followed by lymphocytic, mixed type and Hodgkin's disease. Five and ten year survival rates of the curative resection group, by histological type, were both 38.9 per cent for histiocytic type, both 43 per cent for lymphocytic type, 43.8 per cent and 21.9 per cent respectively for mixed type, and both 100 per cent for Hodgkin's disease. Therefore, the operative result of malignant lymphoma in the large intestine was poor compared with results in case of cancer of the large intestine.