[Primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the stomach--surgical aspects]

In each histological subtype of a primary gastric non-Hodgkin lymphoma laparotomy is performed with the intention of an R0 resection. This concept appears to be rather aggressive if you take into account the possibilities of the other treatment modalities; however, because of the diagnostic uncertainty and of the changing histologic classifications there is an uncertainty about the character and the dissemination of the tumor. Consequently total gastrectomy with systematic lymphadenectomy provides enough basic informations to plan multimodal therapeutic concepts and their clinical evaluations.