Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the stomach: three radical modalities of treatment in 75 patients.

Background: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) remains a rare form of gastric malignancy, with a rising incidence. Approaches to treatment vary from surgery alone to conservative management.

Methods: To determine the optimal scheme of treatment, a randomized clinical trial was undertaken. Seventy-five patients were randomized into three groups: A-surgery alone (25), B-surgery followed by chemotherapy (29), and C-radiation therapy followed by surgery and chemotherapy (21). Forty-nine patients had stage IE and 26 had stage IIE disease. Chemotherapy (COP and COPP) consisted of 6 courses during a 1-year period, with the courses being 6 weeks apart.

Results: Subtotal gastrectomy was performed in 26 patients. Forty-nine patients underwent total gastrectomy. Postoperative complications occurred in 6 (8%) patients: 3 (12%) in group A, 2 (6.9%) in group B, and 1 (4.7%) in group C. Postoperative mortality occurred in 2 (8%) patients in group A (2.7% of all patients). An increase in hospital admissions number per year and decrease of mean age of patients with NHL of the stomach after the Chernobyl accident on April 26, 1986 was noted.

Conclusions: Improved survival in gastric NHL was achieved by a combination of preoperative radiation with surgery and postoperative chemotherapy, presumptively through the management of local and systemic disease.