ABSTRACT
The gastrointestinal tract is the most frequent extranodal localization, representing 30–40% of extranodal lymphomas and from 4 to 20% of all non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases. Compared to nodal lymphomas, fewer patients with gastric lymphoma present with bone marrow involvement or elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels. The percentage of marrow involvement in gastrointestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas may be underestimated by clinical means such as changes in blood counts, and occurs in about 15% of patients referred to large centers. Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas constitute the majority of primary intestinal lymphomas, but distinct histological presentations can include intestinal MALT lymphoma or Immunoproliferative small intestinal disease, enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, or follicular lymphoma, underscoring the importance of skilled histological diagnosis. A common childhood lymphoma but rare in adults, sporadic Burkitt’s lymphoma, often presents with abdominal pain and intussusception. Primary malignant lymphoma of the gallbladder is exceedingly rare; less than 20 well-documented cases have been reported in the literature.
