Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of patients with primary nasal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma(NHL). Methods:The clinical features

diagnosis and treatment of 38 patients with NHL occurring in nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses were retrospectively analyzed. Results:The Ann Arbor stages were:stage Ⅰ

14patients; stage Ⅱ

11 patients;stage Ⅲ

7 patients;stage Ⅳ

6 patients. The most common symptoms at the presentation included nasal obstruction

rhinorrhea and cpistaxis. 11 patients had B symptoms(fever

night sweat

and/or weight loss). The lymphoma cells in all the cases ranged in size from small to large

and necrosis was common. Immunophenotyping were determined in 25cases and all were T cell type. 6 cases with early localized-disease were treated with radiotherapy and 7 had chemotherapy

the remaining 25 cases received combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The 5-year overall survival(OS) for the entire group was 78.9%

and those for patients with localized disease(stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ) and those with the advanced disease(stages Ⅲ and Ⅳ) were 92.0% and 53.8%

respectively(χ2=11.29

P<0.001). Conclusions:Stage of disease is a strong predictor of outcome for primary nasal NHL. The patients with localized disease had a relatively favorable prognosis. The advanced disease may progress rapidly and have unfavorable prognosis if it were treated with conventional chemotherapy

and therefore

further studies are required to improve the outcome.