关键词: 淋巴水肿, 恶性淋巴水肿, 淋巴瘤, 临床特征

Abstract: Objective  To investigate the clinical features of lymphoma patients with the first symptom of lymphedema. Methods  From August 2010 to February 2022, 12 patients with lymphoma who presentied with lymphedema as the first manifestation were selected as the observation group, and 20 patients with secondary lymphedema of the lower limbs after gynecological tumor surgery were selected as the control group. We collected the clinical characteristics of two groups of patients and analyze the clinical characteristics of lymphoma patients with lymphedema as the first manifestation. Results  There were 12 cases with lymphoedema caused or aggravated by lymphoma, including 1 case with upper limb edema, 10 cases with lower limb edema, and 1 case with systemic edema. These patients are often accompanied by clinical symptoms such as weakness, emaciation, pain, lumps, and enlarged lymph nodes. The proportion of patients with abnormal tumor markers is 6/8, and the prevalence of anemia is  6/12. The positive rates of ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are  8/8, 8/8, and  3/3, respectively. The patients are diagnosed by pathological diagnosis and immunohistochemistry. There were significant differences between the two groups in course of disease, main and concomitant symptoms, past history, tumor markers, anemia, and imaging examinations(P<0.01). Conclusion  Lymphoma associated malignant lymphedema is rare and the incidence is insidious. In order to avoid misdiagnosis and delayed treatment of lymphoma, we should actively identify cause of lymphedema during follow-up.

Key words: lymphedema, malignant lymphedema, lymphoma, clinical characteristics