Primary lymphoma of the head and neck: two case reports and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: The head and neck is the second most common region for the extra-nodal lymphomas after that of gastrointestinal tract. Approximately 2.5% of malignant lymphoma arises in the oral and para-oral region. In this paper we report two cases of early stage head and neck lymphoma which were managed successfully with chemotherapy and a review of the related literature. CASES PRESENTATION: The first case concerns a 48 years male patient having a diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma of the oropharynx at early bulky stage. This patient was managed successfully with 7 of Rituximab 375 mg/m(2), Cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m(2 )d1, Doxorubicine 50 mg/m(2 )d1, Vincristine 1.4 mg/m(2 )d1, and prednisone 50 mg/m(2 )d1-5 (RCHOP) regimen. The second case concerns a 50 years female patient having the nasal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma of the left nasal pit at early stage. This case was managed successfully with 6 of Cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m(2 )d1, Doxorubicine 50 mg/m(2 )d1, Vincristine 1.4 mg/m(2 )d1, and prednisone 50 mg/m(2 )d1-5 (CHOP) regimen. CONCLUSION: These two cases highlight the important role of CHOP based chemotherapy for achieving successful treatment cure for patients having an early stage head and neck lymphoma.