OBJECTIVETo review the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of primary intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (PINHL) and analyze the differences between T-cell and B-cell lymphomas.

METHODSThe characteristics of PINHL patients treated in our hospital between January 2003 and December 2010 were reviewed for their clinical manifestations, diagnosis, endoscopic findings, treatments and outcomes.

RESULTSEighty-five cases of PINHL meeting the Dawson's criteria were identified. The median age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 52 years and the male: female ratio was 3.05:1; 58 cases (68.2%) had B-lineage and 27 cases (31.8%) had T-cell lineage lymphomas. Compared to those with B-cell lymphoma, patients with T-cell lymphomas showed a younger age of disease onset (32 vs 56 years, P<0.01) and presented with a greater incidence of such symptoms as fever, hematochezia, diarrhea and night sweats (P<0.05); T-cell lymphoma showed more multifocal and ulcerative/ulcero-infiltrative lesions under endoscope with a longer diagnosis time (4 vs 2 months, P<0.01) and a greater likeliness of misdiagnosis (16/27 vs 12/58, P<0.01) and poor prognosis. Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma was the most common type of T-cell lymphomas.

CONCLUSIONIn our cases, T-cell lymphoma appeared to be more common than B-cell lymphoma with a younger onset age, more difficult diagnosis, a greater likeliness of misdiagnosis, poorer prognosis and more extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma.