Abstract: Objective To evaluate the clinical and pathological features of primary head and neck lymphoma. Methods The medical records of 84 patients with primary head and neck lymphoma were retrospectively analyzed with respect to age, sex, tumor location, clinical manifestations, pathological types, and prognosis. Results Among all patients, 45(53.6%)were males and 39(46.4%)were females, with a male:female ratio of 1.15∶1 and age range of 19-80 years. There were 80 cases(95.2%)of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and 4(4.8%)of Hodgkins lymphoma. Among the 80 cases of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, 39(48.7 %)were primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL)and 21(26.3%)were natural killer/T-cell(NK-T)lymphoma. A wide range of sites were affected with the following incidence: 28 cases(33.3%)of the neck, 26 cases(30.9%)of the nasal sinuses, 14 cases(16.7%)of the tonsils, and 7 cases(8.3%)of the base of the tongue. Primary in the cervical lymph nodes and Waldeyer lymphatic ring was mainly DLBCL, primary in the nasal cavity and sinus with NK/T cell lymphoma. The 1-year and 5-year survival rate of NK-T-cell lymphoma of the head and neck was 90% and 47.6%, respectively, while that of DLBCL of the head and neck was 97.3% and 58.3%, respectively. Conclusion Although the incidence of primary head and neck lymphomas is high, the clinical and imaging features are not specific. It is necessary to perform early histopathological examination to reduce instances of missed diagnosis as well as avoid misdiagnosis.

Key words: Head and neck lymphoma, Waldeyer ring, Clinical characteristics, Pathological characteristics