Lymphoma of the Female Genital Tract: Current Status

Abstract

: Primary lymphomas affecting the female reproductive system are uncommon but often pose a diagnostic challenge if their existence is not suspected. This article reviews the pathological and clinical features of lymphomas occurring in various sites in the female genital tract including the vulva, vagina, cervix, endometrium, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. Using the recent World Health Organization classification, the various types of lymphomas are identified as separate diseases and not as morphological variations of the same disease. The immunophenotypic and cytogenetics features of the major lymphomas are summarized. The incidence, presenting symptoms, gross and microscopic features, major differential diagnostic considerations, response to therapy, and expected outcome are discussed. Using published data on patient outcome, the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Ann Arbor staging systems are compared for their predictive value, and the difficulty in assigning primary and secondary status in extranodal lymphomas is emphasized. The observed differences in the behavior of some lymphomas in gynecological sites compared with their usual nodal location are presented. Finally, the possible etiology of these conditions is discussed in light of the emerging paradigm of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas.

Hematologic malignancies of the female genital tract diagnosed on liquid‐based Pap test: Cytomorphologic features and review of differential diagnoses

“…HM of the GYN tract are considered as rare neoplasms; however, there are several cases described in the literature 3,4,6,9,12,13,17,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] emphasizing the diagnostic difficulties these tumors pose for the clinician and the pathologist. Although primary HM of GYN is rare, secondary involvement of this anatomical site is reported to be present in 7-30% of women with disseminated disease, 1 or can be seen as a result of relapse of AML 28 or blastic transformation of CML.…”

“…Colposcopic findings in primary cervical lymphomas are unremarkable, or if present are rather nonspecific. Diffuse enlargement of the cervix, so-called barrel-shaped cervix or polypoid masses are reported in the literature, 1,4,11,12 whereas ulcerated cervical or vaginal lesions are rarely observed and they tend to be seen in patients with leukemic infiltrates. 13,14 In patients with primary uterine lymphomas, diffuse enlargement of the uterus is often noted, which can mimic fibroids radiologically.…”

“…2 The uterine cervix is reported to be the most common site, followed by the ovaries and uterine corpus. 1,3,4 Histologically, the majority of primary GYN lymphomas are classified as non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) of B-cell origin, while Hodgkin's lymphomas are encountered less frequently. 5 The GYN tract is perhaps one of the least common anatomic locations for primary extraosseus plasmacytoma.…”

Physical Therapy in Patients with Cancer

“…Physical therapists must pay atention to occurrence of musculoskeletal and lymph vascular disorders at the lower extremities following gynecologic surgery [32]. Lymphovascular disorders cause problems after removal of lymph nodes [33]. As a result, patients experience limited ROM, muscle weakness, pain, and decline in ADL.…”

Successful pregnancy after chemo‐immuno‐radiation therapy for aggressive lymphoma of the uterus

“…This problem is particularly evident for young women affected by limited-stage, primary uterine lymphomas (PUL), a rare malignancy that accounts for between 0AE2 and 1AE1% of all lymphomas diagnosed in females (Freeman et al, 1972;Chorlton et al, 1974). Two-thirds of the almost one hundred reported cases of PUL had an aggressive lymphoma, mostly a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (Lagoo & Robboy, 2005;Hariprasad et al, 2006), which requires a shortterm anthracycline-based chemotherapy, alone, preceded by hysterectomy or followed by consolidation radiotherapy. The excellent outcome obtained with these approaches (3-year relapse-free survival c. 85%) and the fact that one-third of these patients are sexually active women of childbearing potential emphasize the relevance of the physical and psychological impact of long-term side effects of anti-lymphoma treatment.…”