Objective: Primary lymphoma of the uterine cervix is rare, with less than 60 cases reported. We present a series of 6 patients with cervical lymphoma and review the literature.
Study design: Between 1988 and 2003, we identified 6 women with primary lymphoma of the uterine cervix treated at our institutions. Data for analysis were obtained from hospital charts, office records, and tumor registry files. We also reviewed 20 published reports on cervical lymphoma, providing information on 58 additional patients.
Results: The median age at diagnosis was 52 years (range 40-76). Three patients had an abnormal Papanicolaou test within 6 months of the diagnosis. Mean tumor size was 8.3 cm (range 3-14 cm). On the basis of the Ann Arbor system of staging where "E" denotes extranodal tumor origin, 2 patients had stage IE, 1 had stage IIIE, and 3 had stage IVE disease. The median follow-up for these 6 women was 33 months (range 12-120). Adding the 6 patients in our series to the 58 patients obtained from published reports, 43 had stage IE, 14 had stage IIE, 2 had stage IIIE, and 5 had stage IVE disease. There was no consistent pattern of treatment identified from our literature review.
Conclusion: Primary lymphoma of the uterine cervix is a rare malignancy. Most patients present with stage IE disease. Women with localized disease typically respond to various combinations of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Combination chemotherapy with tailored radiotherapy appears to be the preferred treatment option in women with advanced disease.