Eiji MORIOKA, Hiromi ISHIBASHI, Yoshihiro TSUCHIYA, Shin HAYASHI, Yuzo OKUMURA, Tsunefumi SHIBUYA, Yoshiyuki NIHO

The First Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University

キーワード : Malignant lymphoma, Spleen, Lymph node, Abdominal lesion

Thirty patients with stage III or IV malignant lymphoma were examined for evaluation of abdominal involvements. A real time ultrasonography with a linear type scanning was used. Splenomegaly and hepatomegaly were observed in 76.7% and 53.3% of the cases, respectively, upon admission. The splenomegaly correlated well with the disease activity and it was present in at least one period during the course in all the patients. Lymph node swelling in the abdominal cavity was observed in 33.3% of the cases. Other findings observed were ʻbright liver' (20.0%), pleural effusion (16.7%), ascites (13.3%), cholecystic sludge (13.3%), space occupying lesions in the spleen (6.7%) and abdominal mass (6.7%). The infiltration of lymphoma cells with little evidence of fatty deposition was demonstrated histologically in two patients with a ʻbright liver'. It is, therefore, suggested that a ʻbright liver' in patients with malignant lymphoma may represent the infiltration of lymphoma cells in the liver. Observing a change in the size of the spleen and the lymph nodes is important for evaluating the disease activity and the effect of the treatments.