[Glomerulonephritis and malignant lymphoma. Mostly men with low-grade lymphoma with various forms of glomerulonephritis].

Background: The association of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with different types of glomerulonephritis is well-known for many years. Whereas in Hodgkin's disease, minimal change glomerulonephritis is mainly observed, in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma various forms of glomerulonephritis are found.

Patients And Results: We describe 3 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which were associated with glomerulonephritis. Two cases of glomerulonephritis showed nephrotic syndromes, which improved by medicinal treatment. In 2 cases glomerulonephritis and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma developed simultaneously. In a third lymphoma was followed by glomerulonephritis after 3 years.

Conclusion: Although the pathogenetic relationship between non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and glomerulonephritis is not fully understood, the high number of reported cases yield interdependence. Lymphoma associated glomerulonephritis is found more often in men than in women. Low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas--especially chronic lymphatic leukemias--seem to develop glomerulonephritis more frequently than high-grade. The majority of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma do not show any predisposition to a special type of glomerulonephritis, only in cutaneous lymphoma IgA-nephropathy predominates.