An Epidemiological, Clinical and Pathological Study of Lymphomas of the Bone and Musculoskeletal System Among Population From the South of Iraq

Abstract

Lymphomas of the bone and musculoskeletal tissue are uncommon. Yet, they constitute a certain frequency that they merit certain consideration. A study was conducted to clarify the behavior of such type of lymphomas in the South of Iraq, epidemiologically, clinically, pathologically, biochemically and immunologically. Results show that they form minority among total lymphoma cases, but they were the third common type among extranodal lymphomas with male gender, adult age and urban residency predominance. There was a predominance of low performance status, absence of B symptoms, neurological and musculo-skeletal manifestations, secondary bone, especially the spine, involvement. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was the most predominant, mainly the intermediate grade, with diffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL) as the main histological types encountered. Hematologically, there was mild anemia, rapid ESR (> 50 mm), normal platelets count in the majority, leucocytosis in < half and monocytopenia predominance. Biochemically they were characterized by normal liver function tests with the exception of high serum alkaline phosphatase, normal total serum proteins, hypoalbuminemia, normal serum urea, creatinine & uric acid, hypercalcemia, with serum LDH and B2MG elevation in the majority. Serum anti EB virus antibodies were seen in 1/4th of cases and the majority were of the higher IPI scores (both high intermediate & high). Those results were comparable to some and contradicting to other studies elsewhere.