SPINAL-CORD COMPRESSION IN NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA - A STUDY OF 10 PATIENTS

Spinal cord compression is an unfrequent event in patients with non-Ho dgkin's lymphomas (NHL) and early diagnosis and therapy are required, The main clinical and histologic characteristics as well as the respon se to therapy in 10 NHL patients with spinal cord compression diagnose d at a single center in a 7-year period are referred. The main initial clinical manifestations were pain in dorsal or lumbar regions (5 case s) and paraparesia or paraplegia (5 patients). Infection by human immu nodeficiency virus (HIV) was present in four cases, In 8 patients spin al cord compression was the initial manifestation of NHL, Pathologic d iagnosis showed intermediate or high-grade lymphoma in 8 out of 10 cas es and immunologic phenotype was B-cell in all cases, Laminectomy foll owed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy was performed in 4 cases, r adiotherapy and chemotherapy in two, isolated chemotherapy in 3 and ra diation therapy was administred to the remaining case, Complete respon se was observed in 4 cases and 6 cases were resistant to treatment, No patient with HIV infection responded to treatment, Six patients had d ied, median survival time for the whole series being 4 months, and the actuarial probability of survival was 40% at the first year.