Introduction: Primary small intestinal lymphoma (PSIL) is the second Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) of the digestive tract (after gastric NHL).
Purpose: To evaluate during the past 28 years the epidemiological, anatomoclinical and therapeutic changes of PSIL in Tunisia through an acquired experience of more than a quarter of a century.
Methods: Our retrospective study included patients with histologically confirmed small intestinal lymphoma from 1981 to 2008 in Tunisia at Salah Azaiz Institute. The cohort of 210 patients was divided into two groups: A group from 1981 to 1992 (152 patients) and B group from 1993 to 2008 (58 patients). We analysed the epidemiological, anatomoclinical, histological, and therapeutic characteristics.
Results: We observed a significant decrease in the annual incidence of PSIL but also a significant transition of diffuse immunoproliferative small intestinal disease (IPSID) also known as "Mediterranean" PSIL, which were progressively replaced by "Western" lymphomas. Laparotomy with or without a debulking surgery, largely performed in group A, has disappeared at the cost of a primary chemotherapy (p < 0.001). Five-year actuarial global and relapse free survivals were respectively 60.5 and 57.3%.
Conclusion: PSIL in Tunisia were subjected to a triple transition: epidemiological, histological and therapeutic.