Ophthalmologic and intraocular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a large single centre study of initial characteristics, natural history, and prognostic factors.

The aims of this study were to define the initial characteristics, natural history, and prognostic factors of patients with ophthalmologic and intraocular malignant lymphoma. All patients treated at the Institut Curie for lymphoma with ophthalmologic (orbit and/or adnexa) or intraocular involvement were retrospectively reviewed. A pathological review of all cases was performed according to the WHO classification. One hundred and forty-five patients were selected for the study. Pathological review showed 36% MALT type lymphoma, 22% lymphoplasmocytic lymphoma, and 15% diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Ophthalmologic and ocular sites were intra-orbital in 61 cases (42%) and conjunctival in 51 cases (35%), with bilateral involvement in 10% of cases. Stage IV was found in 32% of cases, with bone marrow involvement in 12%. With a median follow-up of 90 months, the 5-year DFS and OS were 64 and 79% for low-grade NHL, and 43 and 50% for high-grade NHL. On multivariate analysis, age greater than 59 years, elevated LDH level, stage IV, high-grade histological subgroup, and presence of B-symptoms had a negative impact on OS for the overall population. In conclusion, with a median follow-up of 7.5 years, our large cohort of patients represents one of the largest published series on primary ophthalmologic and intraocular malignant lymphoma. Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd