PubMedDate not supplied
AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Primary pulmonary lymphoma is an uncommon disease with a poorly defined management. We reviewed and followed the cases of primary pulmonary lymphoma in our institution to gather an estimation of this entity in our population. DESIGN AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of all patients with biopsy-proven lymphoma of the lung. The main diagnostic criterion for primary pulmonary lymphoma was the absence of extrapulmonary involvement. RESULTS: We identified 6 cases of primary pulmonary lymphoma among 33 patients with biopsy-proven lymphoma of the lung evaluated in our center in a 12-year period. A radiological abnormality in an asymptomatic patient was the most common clinical presentation. Four cases were low-grade and two cases high-grade non-Hodgkin PPL. Histopathologic analyses of lung specimens obtained by transbronchial biopsy were sufficient for a diagnosis in 5 of the 6 cases and avoided invasive surgical maneuvers. Most patients followed an indolent course, but with a tendency to relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Although clinical management of this entity is undefined, we feel bronchoscopic study, which is less aggressive than surgery, may be an adequate procedure for a diagnosis. Mono-chemotherapy using alkylating agents and careful clinical observation may be the best therapeutic approach for these patients, since most of them have favorable outcomes, whatever the treatment modalities.