POSTOPERATIVE CHEMOTHERAPY INCREASES THE DISEASE-FREE SURVIVAL RATE IN PRIMARY GASTRIC LYMPHOMAS STAGE IE AND IIE

We describe 53 patients with primary gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (3 8 stage IE,15 stage IIE) treated with surgery as a primary procedure. According to the Working Formulation, 13 cases had low, 21 had interme diate and 19 had high grade malignancy. 34 patients considered at high risk received postoperative polychemotherapy. The overall 10-year dis ease-related survival is 91%. Median follow-up is 52 months. 7 patient s relapsed (13%). The 10-year disease-free survival rate of the 19 pat ients initially treated with surgery alone is 60%, as compared with 92 % in the patients who also received chemotherapy (P = 0.004). However, overall survival did not differ between the two groups, since two-thi rds of the patients who relapsed after surgery alone were rescued with chemotherapy. Stage, age, sex and histology did not correlate with su rvival. In our experience, surgery was an adequate first step procedur e; the addition of chemotherapy significantly reduced relapses and inc reased the disease-free survival rate in patients with unfavourable pr ognostic factors.