Background & objective: Primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL), a rare malignancy, has seldom been reported. This article was to investigate clinicopathologic features and treatment of PHL.
Methods: Data of 4 patients with PHL, treated in Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University from Nov. 1994 to May 2004, were retrospectively analyzed.
Results: Of the 4 patients, 3 were men, and 1 was woman, with a median age of 53 years old; 3 had single focus, and 1 had multi-foci. All patents were positive for HBV antigen, 3 were misdiagnosed preoperatively, and 1 had no clear diagnosis before operation. Pathologic examination revealed that 3 were B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and 1 was Hodgkin's lymphoma. Two patients received resection, and 2 received biopsy; all patients received adjuvant chemotherapy postoperatively.
Conclusions: HBV infection might relate with the development of PHL. PHL should be considered for the patients presented liver mass and B-symptomatolgy. Resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with CHOP regiment seems to be the best option for PHL.