Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma involving the vagina - A clinicopathologic analysisof 14 patients

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL! uncommonly involve the vagina. In this study, 14 NHL involving the vagina are reported. Eight cases were stage IE or I-I E and are presumed to be primary. The mean age of these eight patients at p resentation was 42 years (range, 26-66 yrs), and four of eight patients com plained primarily of vaginal bleeding. Histologically, all eight neoplasms were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), Clinical follow up ranged from 1.8 to 18 years. Six of eight patients were alive without evidence of disea se at the last follow up (range, 2.8-21 yrs), one patient died of unrelated causes at 9 years, and one patient died from NHL at 1.8 years. In six pati ents vaginal involvement was part of systemic disease at diagnosis, either stage IIIE or IV. The mean patient age at the time vaginal involvement was detected was 65 years (range, 49-82 yrs). Four of six patients had vaginal bleeding. Five neoplasms were DLBCL and one tumor was B-cell small lymphocy tic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Clinical follow up for these pat ients ranged from ? weeks to 13 years. Two patients were free of disease af ter treatment at 4.5 and 13 years, two patients were alive with progressive NHL, one patient died of NHL, and one patient was recently diagnosed. The authors conclude that low-stage (presumably primary) vaginal NHL are DLBCL, tend to occur in younger women, and cause vaginal bleeding. High-stage NHL involving the vagina are usually DLBCL, tend to affect older women, and ar e relatively mon heterogeneous clinically and histologically, but also usua lly cause vaginal bleeding.