Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with pregnancy. A report of six cases, with a review of the literature.

Six patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed during late pregnancy or shortly thereafter are reported. Three patients had high-grade lymphoma and three, intermediate-grade histologic features. Five of the six patients were in Stage 4 and one was Stage 1. Only three had the diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma during pregnancy, and in these three cases the disease appeared to progress rapidly after delivery. The other three women probably had lymphoma during pregnancy; lymphoma was widespread at the time of their diagnosis, but the diagnosis was only established on biopsy specimens after delivery in all three instances. Five patients had full-term natural deliveries with normal infants. A single patient with Burkitt's lymphoma had a premature delivery with a cesarean section in the 29th week because of abruptio placentae probably due to lymphoma of the uterine wall. In this case both mother and child died within 48 hours of delivery. The other five patients were treated soon after delivery. Published literature dealing with this topic is scanty and inconclusive; accordingly this report attempts to discuss management of lymphoma in pregnancy, based on the authors' limited experience with these six patients.