Lymphoma of the stomach is considered a disease that has a similar symptom with many benign changes in the organ. Due to this, it is possible to erroneously diagnose pathology.
However, timely treatment of gastric lymphoma in most cases is highly effective and is considered a prevention of the transition of the disease to a malignant type of tumors.
Statistics
A study of the history of diseases of patients with lymphomas made it possible to find out that this disease occurs in 2-5% of cases of all stomach tumors .
Predominantly the age of patients is from 50 years and among them there are more men. It is noted that in recent years, the trend towards an increase in patients with gastric lymphoma is increasing.
Causes of
The term lymphoma refers to tumors that begin to grow from lymphoid tissue. Normally, there are no lymphoid follicles in the walls of the stomach, but they begin to form and grow under the influence of certain causes.
In addition to the negative effect of bacteria on the likelihood of developing lymphoid tissue in the stomach, factors such as:
- Infringements in the work of the immune system.
- Autoimmune pathologies.
- Predisposition inherited.
- Transplantation of organs( bone marrow, kidney) in anamnesis.
- Accommodation or long stay in areas where there is an increased level of radiation.
- Continuous use of food with pesticides and carcinogens.
- Prolonged treatment with drugs that inhibit the functioning of the immune system.
Naturally, not all people experiencing the effects of disease-provoking factors, can develop lymphoma.
Symptoms
Lymphoma of the stomach in its manifestations is similar to other inflammatory diseases of this organ, it can remind on symptoms of cancer. You can pay attention to such signs:
- Blunt and aching pain, affecting the abdomen. In the early stages of the disease, they are periodic, at the end almost constant. Pain often becomes more intense after eating.
- Fast saturation. A similar symptom is characteristic of most tumoral formations of the stomach.
- Nausea , sometimes vomiting with a small amount of blood.
- Weight reduction , at the last stages of the patient anorexia is expressed.
- Lack of appetite.
- Night sweating.
- Increased body temperature for no particular reason.
Lymphoma in the stomach is especially dangerous in connection with the probability of development of life-threatening complications. Germination of the neoplasm in the organ wall can result in its perforation with the release of the contents into the abdominal cavity and with bleeding. Such conditions require the provision of emergency care in a surgical hospital.
Complication is also stenosis of the stomach, that is, a gradual narrowing of the lumen of the organ. Stenosis leads to a decrease in consumed food, and as a result, excessive leanness develops
In most cases, the growth of lymphoma is detected in the distal stomach. Patients with this disease often have enlarged lymph nodes, they are located in the neck, abdomen and groin. With palpation, growing lymph nodes are painless and do not give the sick person any discomfort.
Types of
There are several classifications of gastric lymphomas. The cellular structure and localization features distinguish:
- Primary lymphoma. Similar to gastric cancer symptoms and microscopic structure often make it difficult to diagnose primary lymphoma. A feature of this type of education is the absence of changes in the bone marrow and in the lymph nodes. It has been established that primary lymphoma predominantly occurs in people suffering from chronic gastritis for many years.
- Secondary lymphoma. This type of tumor is exposed when most of the tissues of the organ walls are involved in the pathological process.
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the stomach differs in the degree of its malignancy. The appearance of this type of lymphoid neoplasm is directly related to the negative effect on the walls of the stomach of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria.
- Lymphogranulomatosis is exposed when malignant cells pass from the affected lymph node of any area of the body to the stomach tissue. As an independent neoplasm, the growth of which immediately begins in the walls of the organ, practically does not occur.
- Lymphoma - the spread of lymphoid tissue leads to infiltration of the mucous layer and the membranes below. At the beginning of its development the pathological process is characterized by a benign course, the lack of effective and most importantly timely treatment leads to malignant changes. Lymphoma is very rare and with this type of disease there is no lesion of regional lymph nodes.
According to the macroscopic structure, gastric lymphomas are divided into:
- Polypoid. This formation grows in the direction of the lumen of the stomach.
- Nodal. This type of lymphoma begins to form initially in the mucous membrane of the stomach.
- The ulcerative( infiltrative) form of the disease captures the submucosal and mucous layer of the stomach. It is considered the most aggressive kind of stomach lymphoma.
Stages of development of
Determining the stage of development of lymphoma of the stomach is necessary in order to reveal the extent of the prevalence of malignant process throughout the body.
The first and second stages are characterized by local manifestations, that is, distant lymph nodes and other organs are not affected. The third stage is exposed to the patient, when lymph nodes, located on both sides of the diaphragm, are involved in the pathological process.
In the fourth stage, not only the lymph nodes, but also the bone marrow, liver, skin, bones are affected by the malignant process.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of gastric lymphoma consists of a series of laboratory and instrumental methods of investigation, which include:
- Blood tests.
- Endoscopic ultrasound. During this method of examination, it becomes difficult to distinguish between lymphoma, gastritis and gastric ulcer, so a biopsy of the material is performed;
- Tumor biopsy with laparotomy;
- Cytological and histological methods of investigation;
- Radiography of the affected organ;
- Computed tomography and MRI.CT helps to assess the degree of inflammation in the stomach and detect changes in its tissues, and MRI refines the data that was obtained using CT diagnostics.
The diagnosis is made by histological examination of materials of the gastric mucosa, taken with endoscopy. The accuracy of this method varies depending on the accepted methodology in the range from 35 to 80%.
Treatment of
In gastric lymphoma there is one important characteristic for patients - this tumor unlike other malignant neoplasms of the body is successfully treated by .Naturally, we are talking about a timely diagnosed disease.
If suspected of lymphoma, the patient is sent to an oncologist. The doctor appoints a series of examinations, according to the results of which the decision is made to choose a method of treatment. The choice of the method of therapy is primarily influenced by the stage of the tumor.
A modern approach is the appointment of the original antibiotic therapy, which is necessary for the destruction of Helicobacter pylori. Independent selection of drugs is not permissible, since there are several schemes for the destruction of this bacterium, based on the intake of several drugs at the same time.
After a course of antibacterial therapy, a surgical operation is performed for the removal of the tumor in the first stage of lymphoma. During surgery, the doctor examines all the walls of the stomach, visually ascertain whether there is metastasis and how much the tumor has sprouted into all layers. After the operation, the chemotherapy necessary to kill the remaining cancer cells is selected.
In the second - third stage of the disease, chemotherapy is first prescribed, such as Prednisolone, Doxorubicin, Vincristine. The patient is also given irradiation of the abdominal cavity with the primary effect on the stomach region. Using chemotherapy and radiation can reduce the size of the lymphoma and it can then be removed. If necessary, the stomach is removed completely.
If the neoplasm is inoperable, that is, the tumor has seized the vessels, then the patient is selected only palliative treatment. This means that medications are used to relieve the patient's condition and prolong his life.
During and after treatment with gastric lymphomas, you must adhere to proper nutrition. It implies the restriction of animal protein, fats and the use of more lactic acid foods and plant foods. Food should be chosen so that it does not increase the uncomfortable sensations of the sick person.
In addition to the main therapy can be used and methods of traditional medicine. But it must always be remembered that they can not replace traditional therapy. It is also always advisable to coordinate with the attending physician the use of self-selected recipes.
Prognosis for gastric lymphoma
Lymphoma of the stomach is considered one of the most favorable in terms of malignant disease.
The prognosis of the course of lymphomas depends not only on the stage, but also on the correctly selected therapy, the individual characteristics of the body's resistance, the variety of the tumor.
Lymphoma of the stomach is not the diagnosis that should panic. Timely therapy and strict adherence to all the prescriptions of the doctor can completely defeat the disease in most cases.
Video on endoscopic differential diagnostics of gastritis-like forms of lymphomas and cricoid carcinomas: