Bone Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Bone Cancer, including details on symptoms, types, treatment.

Lethal midline granuloma-nasal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma.

Mendenhall WM, Olivier KR, Lynch JW, Mendenhall NP

Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA. mendewil@shands.ufl.edu

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to discuss lethal midline granuloma (LMG)-nasal natural killer (NK) T-cell lymphoma (LMG-NTL). METHODS: Literature review. RESULTS: LMG is a rare entity that usually arises in the nasal cavity, exhibits a male preponderance, and has a wide age range. The majority of LMGs are LMG-NTLs. The optimal treatment of LMG-NTL is unclear and is most likely moderate-dose radiotherapy. The prognosis for patients with LMG-NTL is significantly worse than for patients with other types of head and neck non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL). The 5-year survival rate is approximately 20% but may be higher, depending on whether patients with less aggressive forms of NHL are included. Initial local-regional disease progression is the predominant pattern of treatment failure. Late failures after 5 years are uncommon. CONCLUSIONS: LMG-NTL is a rare nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma that can be difficult to distinguish from other benign and malignant entities. Its clinical course, however, is extremely aggressive. The patterns of failure suggest a role for more aggressive local-regional treatment, as well as more effective chemotherapy.

Published 7 April 2006 in Am J Clin Oncol, 29(2): 202-6.
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