Epidemiological Spectrum of Gastrointestinal Lymphoma

Sarfaraz Jasdanwala, MD1 CS Pitchumoni, MD2 1Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, NJ 2Chief of Gastroenterolgy, Hepatology and Clinical Nutrition, Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ to the GI tract, or is clearly predominant within portion of the GI tract. The majority of GI lymphomas are nonHodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL). Hodgkin’s lymphoma of the GI tract, although reported, are rare.4,5,6 The specific subtypes of NHL which involve the GI tract primarily versus secondarily have not been clearly studied.7 Epidemiology of GI lymphomas differs substantially in different geographical regions of the world. Most population based studies have been done in Asian and European patients, with very few studies from North American cohorts.7 Also, a huge difference exists in the prevalence and epidemiology of GI lymphomas in different anatomical regions of the GI tract.8 The aim of this review is to provide data on the complex epidemiology of GI lymphoma as part of the present series on cancers of the GI tract.