Malignant lymphoma in the Saudi Arab

Forty-three cases of malignant lymphoma in Saudi Arabs were reviewed. Seventy-nine percent showed evidence of intra-abdominal disease when first seen, and 42 percent presented with primary abdominal disease. Jejunal, ileal, and mesenteric lymph node involvement were the most frequent manifestations of primary abdominal disease. The high frequency of primary abdominal lymphoma in Saudi Arabs is comparable with that found in Israel among Arabs and Sephardic Jews, and suggests a common environmental or ethnic factor which modified the expression of malignant lymphoma in Semitic populations.