Occasionally a malignant lymphoma may shrink or disappear spontaneously.
Patient selection: Hodgkin's or non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma
Clinical features:
(1) The patient has a diagnosis of malignant lymphoma.
(2) One or more tumor foci shrink in size or disappear.
(3) The change cannot be explained by an intervention (surgery, chemoradiation) targeting the lymphoma.
The changes:
(1) may be temporary
(2) may not affect all tumor sites
Theories:
(1) immune response, including discontinuation of immunosuppression
(2) vascular event with infarction
(3) treatment against a triggering cause (Helicobacter pylori and gastric MALT lymphoma)
Exclusion:
(1) misdiagnosis of a reactive lymphoproliferation as malignant lymphoma
(2) undocumented chemoradiation
