OBJECTIVETo summarize and analyze the diagnosis, clinical features and therapy of primary colorectal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

METHODSThe clinicopathological data of 52 patients with primary colorectal NHL diagnosed and treated in our department from January 2000 to January 2010 were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively in this study.

RESULTSThis group of patients was composed of 45 cases of B cell and 7 T cell lymphomas, including 33 males and 19 females, with a male to female ratio of 1.7:1, and the age at diagnosis was 16 - 74 years old, with a median age of 50 years. The ileocecal region was most frequently involved site, acounted for 48.1%. The common symptoms encountered were abdominal pain (66.7%), diarrhea (15.6%), blood stool (24.4%), and body weight loss (8.9%). All patients were eventually diagnosed by histopathology, and the DLBCL subtype took up 64.4%. Among the 45 cases of B cell subtype, 33 cases (73.3%) were of early stage (IE and IIE confirmed), and the 5-year survival rate was 78.1%, while those of stage IIIE and IVE comprised 26.7%, with a 5-year survival rate of 45.5% (P < 0.05). The 5-year survival rate of all patients was 71.1%. Surgery was employed in 36 cases, and 9 patients received chemotherapy alone. Radical surgery could significantly increase the patients' overall survival rate, as compared with the chemotherapy alone group and palliative surgery group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSColorectal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a rare malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract. B cell type, male predominance and DLBCL subtype are most encountered manifestations in clinics. Multi-modality management with radical surgical resection of the primary lesion followed by standard chemotherapy, affords better local disease control, and a better survival outcome. Early detection and tailored immunotherapy can obviously prolong the long-term survival time.