COMBINED CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY OF LOCALIZED GASTRIC LYMPHOMA

In a twelve-year period (1980-1992) 23 patients (9 men, 14 women; mean age 65 [25-82] years) with malignant non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the stomach, in localized stage I or II (Ann Arbor classification), were given chemo- and radiotherapy without preceding operation. The results were compared with those of a group of 34 patients (19 men, 15 women; mean age 55 (17-77] years) who had been admitted during the same period, having first been treated by surgical resection and most of them additionally by chemo- and/or radiotherapy. Three not previously operated patients with inadequate response to chemotherapy subsequently underwent laparotomy and remained in remission after further treatment. There was in each group one fatal recurrence. Five-year total probability of survival in the operated and non-operated groups was 90% and 92%, respectively; five-year total recurrence-free probability was 88% and 86%, respectively. There were no cases of severe bleeding or perforation. - These results demonstrate that conservative management of localized gastric lymphoma by combined chemo- and radiotherapy does not bring about a rise in recurrence rate and does not seem to be inferior to surgical treatment.