Sonographic patterns in extranodal abdominal lymphomas

Between 1980 and 1993, 680 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) and Hodgkin's disease (HD) were studied by ultrasonography. In 210 patients a total of 254 extranodular abdominal lymphoma infiltrates were diagnosed. Infiltrates were confirmed histologically in 118 patients and through the clinical course and follow-up studies in 92 patients. Lymphoma infiltrates were seen most frequently in the spleen (n = 101), the gastrointestinal tract (n = 70), the liver (n = 47), the kidneys (n = 17) and other organs (n = 19). The sonographic features of lymphomatous infiltrates in different extranodal sites are described, and possible correlations between lymphoma subtypes and sonographic texture characteristics are investigated. Different infiltration patterns of lymphoma subtypes could be identified in liver and spleen. High-grade NHLs most frequently showed large-nodular lesions, whereas low-grade NHLs and HD showed a tendency towards small-nodular or diffuse lesions. The role of ultrasonography in the clinical management of lymphoma patients is discussed.