SONOGRAPHIC PATTERNS OF SPLENIC INVOLVEME NT IN NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMAS

Between 1980 and 1993, 680 patients with malignant lymphoma were refer red for abdominal sonography as a part of staging. In 67 (9.8%) indivi duals with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) sonography showed different de grees of lesions of the spleen. Splenic involvement was confirmed by h istological examination (n = 5) and by clinical (n = 67) and sonograph ic follow-up examination (n = 56). 38 patients had low-grade (Ig NHL), and 29 had high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (hg NHL). Four different sonographic patterns were found: diffuse infiltration (n = 20; 29.9%) , small nodular lesions (n = 25; 37.3%), large nodular lesions (n = 20 ; 29.9%), and ''bulky'' disease (n = 2; 2.9%). All hg NHL exhibited fo cal lesions, which were large nodular in 15 out of 29 patients. In Ig NHL small nodular and diffuse destruction of the splenic tissue textur e were seen in 35 out of 38. Conclusion: Different texture patterns of the spleen can be found in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and s plenic involvement with different lymphomas tending to exhibit differe nt echomorphological infiltration patterns.