Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (May 2022)

Primary Extranodal Lymphomas: A Five Year Retrospective Study from a Tertiary Care Cancer Centre, Kerala, India

  • Jayasudha Arundhathi Vasudevan,
  • Rekha A Nair,
  • Priya Mary Jacob,
  • Renu Sukumaran,
  • Geetha Narayanan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2022/53164.16323
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 5
pp. EC23 – EC26

Abstract

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Introduction: Primary Extranodal Lymphomas (pENLs) are defined as lymphomas with dominant extranodal involvement with no or minor involvement of lymph nodes after routine staging procedures. The present study highlights the profile of pENLs in Kerala, South India which is not yet reported in literature. Aim: To study the frequency, distribution and histopathology profile of pENLs diagnosed in a tertiary care cancer centre. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study done in a tertiary care cancer centre in Kerala, Southern India for a period of five years. All the cases of pENLs diagnosed during this five year period which fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in this study. These 3,357 cases were reviewed and classified according to the 2017 revised 4th edition World Health Organisation (WHO) classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid tissues. Data was summarised using descriptive statistics. The frequency, distribution and histopathology features of pENLs were studied. Results: A total number of 3,357 lymphomas were diagnosed at the centre during this period. Non Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) constituted of 2610 (77.7%) cases. pENLs constituted 477 cases which included two cases of classical hodgkin lymphomas. Primary extranodal NHL (n=475) constituted 18.2% of NHL. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), Not Otherwise Specified (NOS), was the most common histologic subtype (173 cases, 36.2%) followed by Mucosa Associated Lymphoid Tissue (MALT) lymphoma (77cases, 16.1%). Most common site of presentation were Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT) (117 cases, 24.5%) and Head and Neck region (HN) (117 cases, 24.5%). Conclusion: DLBCL, NOS was the most common subtype. GIT and HN region was the most common site of pENLs in present study. The frequency of pENLs in present study was comparable to few other Indian studies but was lower than Far Eastern studies. The frequency of Adult T-cell leukaemia/Lymphoma (ATLL) was high which was not mentioned in similar studies on pENLs from India.

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