Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas involving the female genital tract

Abstract

Thirteen female patients with lymphomas involving the genital tract were studied. Their median age was 50 years. There were three cases of stage I disease, one stage II and nine stage IV. The gastrointestinal tract was commonly involved in patients with disease in the ovary. The histology was mostly intermediate or high grade according to the Working Formulation. Immunophenotyping was performed in six patients and they were all B-cell tumours. There appeared to have a strong association between gastrointestinal involvement and ovarian disease. All patients received combination chemotherapy with or without additional radiotherapy and the survival of patients with stage I and II disease appeared to be superior to those with stage IV disease. However, the difference observed did not reach statistical significance because of small patient number. It remains uncertain whether lymphomas of the female genital tract by itself carries a poorer prognosis than the nodal lymphomas of comparable stage and histology.