Primary Endometrial Lymphomas: A Systematic Review
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. Endometrial Lymphocytes, Natural Killer Cells, Histiocytes, and Dendritic Cells
1.2. Endometrial Lymphoid Aggregates
1.3. Endometrial Lymphoproliferative Lesions
1.4. Primary Endometrial Lymphomas
1.4.1. Primary Endometrial Marginal Zone Lymphoma
1.4.2. Primary Endometrial Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
1.4.3. Primary Endometrial Follicular Lymphoma
1.4.4. Primary Endometrial Intravascular Large B-Cell Lymphoma
1.4.5. Primary Endometrial Extranodal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma
1.4.6. Primary Endometrial T-Cell Lymphoma
1.4.7. Primary Endometrial Lymphoma Arising in a Background of Endometrial Polyps or Associated with Endometrial Carcinoma
1.5. Radiological Findings in PELs
1.6. Knowledge Gap and Study Objective
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Protocol
2.2. Search Strategy
2.3. Selection Criteria and Data Extraction
2.4. Assessment of Study Quality and Risk of Bias
2.5. Data Synthesis
3. Results
3.1. Pathologic Features of PELs
3.2. Clinical Features and Diagnosis of PELs
3.3. Radiological Features and Diagnosis of PELs
3.4. Histological Types of PELs
3.5. Cases of Endometrial Lymphoma Presenting Within Endometrial Polyps or Coexisting with Endometrial Carcinoma
4. Discussion
5. Limitations of Our Study and Future Directions
6. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| PE | Primary endometrial |
| PELs | Primary endometrial lymphomas |
| NK cells | Natural killer cells |
| DCs | Dendritic cells |
| ELAs | Endometrial lymphoid aggregates |
| uNK cells | Uterine natural killer cells |
| PE-DLBCL | Primary endometrial diffuse large B-cell lymphoma |
| PE-MZL | Primary endometrial marginal zone lymphoma |
| MALT lymphoma | Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma |
| PE-FL | Primary endometrial follicular lymphoma |
| PE-ENKTL | Primary endometrial extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma |
| PE-IVLBCL | Primary endometrial intravascular large B-cell lymphoma |
| PE-PTCL | Primary endometrial peripheral T-cell lymphoma |
| NHL | Non-Hodgkin lymphoma |
| PE-low-grade NHL | Primary endometrial low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma |
| PE-T-ALL/LBL | Primary endometrial precursor T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma |
| PE-TCL | Primary endometrial T-cell lymphoma |
| PE-HL | Primary endometrial Hodgkin lymphoma |
| AUB | Abnormal uterine bleeding |
| US | Ultrasonography |
| CT | Computed tomography |
| MRI | Magnetic resonance imaging |
| FDG-PET/CT | 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography |
| PET-CT | Positron emission tomography-computed tomography |
| ADC | Apparent diffusion coefficient |
| DWI | Diffusion-weighted imaging |
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| Cell Types | Markers | Locations | Functional Roles | Cyclical Changes (Numbers of Cells) | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD8+ T Lymphocytes | CD3+ CD8+ | Endometrial stroma and epithelium | Immune surveillance and cytotoxicity | Moderate during the proliferative phase and increased during the secretory phase | [2,3,4,5] |
| CD4+ T Helper Lymphocytes | CD3+ CD4+ | Scattered in the endometrial stroma | Immune regulation and cytokine secretion | Varies throughout the cycle, with a rise post-ovulation | [6] |
| Regulatory T Lymphocytes | FOXP3+, CD25+ | Endometrial stroma | Enhancing the immune tolerance during implantation | Increases in the mid-secretory phase | [7] |
| NK Cells | CD56+ CD16− | Perivascular endometrial stroma | Spiral artery remodeling, cytokine secretion, and immune modulation | Low in the proliferative phase, peaking in the mid-to-late secretory phase, and dropping after menstruation | [8,9,10] |
| Macrophages | CD68+, CD163+, CD14+ | Throughout the endometrial stroma | Phagocytosis, tissue repair, cytokine production, and angiogenesis | Moderate in the early cycle with an increase in the secretory phase, peaking at menstruation for tissue breakdown and repair | [3,5,8,11] |
| Dendritic Cells (DCs) | CD11c+, HLA-DR+, CD83+, CD1a+ | Endometrial basalis layer, and stroma | Antigen presentation, induction of tolerance, and interaction with T lymphocytes and NK cells | Immature DCs predominate, with mature forms increasing in the late secretory phase | [12,13] |
| B Lymphocytes | CD20+ | Rare in healthy endometrial tissue | Humoral immunity (limited role) | Usually absent or extremely low in the normal human endometrium | [2,14,15] |
| Study No. | Type of Lymphoma | Age (Yrs) | Number of Cases | Clincal Presentation | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PE-MZL | 61 | 1 | AUB | [68] |
| 2 | PE-MZL | 60 | 1 | AUB | [56] |
| 3 | PE-MZL | 70 | 1 | AUB | [69] |
| 4 | PE-MZL | 62 (average age) | 8 | AUB | [31] |
| 5 | PE-MZL | 49 (average age) | 4 | AUB | [33] |
| 6 | PE-MZL | - | 1 | AUB | [70] |
| 7 | PE-MALT lymphoma | 81 | 1 | AUB | [71] |
| 8 | PE-MZL | 61 | 1 | AUB | [72] |
| 9 | PE-MZL | 46 (average age) | 1 | AUB | [73] |
| 10 | PE-MZL | 55 | 1 | AUB | [74] |
| 11 | PE-MZL | 65 | 1 | AUB | [55] |
| 12 | PE-MZL | 55 (average age) | 1 | AUB | [75] |
| Study No. | Type of Lymphoma | Age (Yrs) | Number of Cases | Clincal Presentation | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PE-DLBCL (Endometrial polyp) | 49 | 1 | AUB | [34] |
| 2 | PE-PBL | 29 | 1 | AUB | [76] |
| 3 | PE-DLBCL | 88 | 1 | AUB | [35] |
| 4 | PE-B-cell lymphoma (Endometrial polyp) | 53 | 1 | AUB | [53] |
| 5 | PE-DLBCL (Endometrial polyp) | 56 | 1 | AUB | [77] |
| 6 | PE-DLBCL (Transformed from PE-MZL) | 66 | 1 | AUB | [58] |
| 7 | PE-DLBCL | 67 | 1 | AUB | [57] |
| 8 | PE-DLBCL (Endometrial polyp) | 89 | 1 | AUB | [54] |
| 9 | PE-DLBCL | Menopausal | 1 | AUB | [78] |
| 10 | PE-DLBCL | 46 (Average age) | 3 | AUB | [73] |
| 11 | PE-DLBCL (Endometrial polyp) | 44 | 1 | AUB | [36] |
| 12 | Carcinoma with PELs (2 PE-DLBCL, 1 PE-FL) | 56 | 3 | AUB | [62] |
| 13 | PE-DLBCL | 59 | 1 | AUB | [79] |
| 14 | PE-Immunoblastic NHL (HIV-associated) | 35 | 1 | AUB | [80] |
| 15 | PE-DLBCL | 31 and 36 | 2 | AUB | [38] |
| Study No. | Type of Lymphoma | Age (Yrs) | Number of Cases | Clincal Presentation | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PE-IVLBCL | 32 | 1 | AUB | [81] |
| 2 | PE-IVDLBCL | 66 | 1 | AUB | [48] |
| 3 | PE-IVDLBCL | 47 | 1 | AUB | [47] |
| 4 | PE-IVDLBCL | 62 | 1 | AUB | [46] |
| 5 | PE-ENKTL | 44 | 1 | AUB | [50] |
| 6 | PE-ENKTL | 48 | 1 | AUB | [49] |
| 7 | PE-ENKTL | 40 | 1 | AUB | [82] |
| 8 | PE-BL | 65 | 1 | AUB | [39] |
| 9 | PE-BL | 6 | 1 | AUB | [40] |
| 10 | PE-FL | 67 | 1 | AUB | [59] |
| 11 | PE-low-grade NHL | 62 | 1 | AUB | [83] |
| 12 | PE-low-grade NHL | 59 | 3 | AUB | [84] |
| 13 | PE-T-ALL/LBL | 38 | 1 | AUB | [52] |
| 14 | PE-TCL | 75 | 1 | AUB | [51] |
| 15 | PE-TCL | 68 | 1 | AUB | [85] |
| 16 | PE-HL | 30 | 1 | AUB | [86] |
| Study No. | Type of Lymphoma | Age (Yrs) | Number of Cases | Clincal Presentation | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PE-DLBCL | 49 | 1 | Incidental finding | [34] |
| 2 | PE-B-cell lymphoma | 53 | 1 | Vaginal spotting | [53] |
| 3 | PE-DLBCL | 56 | 1 | Vaginal bleeding | [77] |
| 4 | PE-DLBCL | 89 | 1 | Vaginal bleeding | [54] |
| 5 | PE-DLBCL | 44 | 1 | Vaginal spotting | [36] |
| 6 | PE-MZL (MALT lymphoma) | 60 | 1 | Vaginal bleeding | [56] |
| 7 | PE-MZL (MALT lymphoma) | 65 | 1 | Vaginal bleeding | [55] |
| 8 | PE-IVLBCL | 66 | 1 | Vaginal bleeding | [48] |
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Hussein, M.R.A.; Bahkali, M.; Hussein, T.M.R.A.; Abu-Dief, E.; Abdulwahed, A.R. Primary Endometrial Lymphomas: A Systematic Review. Diagnostics 2026, 16, 849. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16060849
Hussein MRA, Bahkali M, Hussein TMRA, Abu-Dief E, Abdulwahed AR. Primary Endometrial Lymphomas: A Systematic Review. Diagnostics. 2026; 16(6):849. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16060849
Chicago/Turabian StyleHussein, Mahmoud Rezk Abdelwahed, Manal Bahkali, Toka Mahmoud R. A. Hussein, Eman Abu-Dief, and Ahmed R. Abdulwahed. 2026. "Primary Endometrial Lymphomas: A Systematic Review" Diagnostics 16, no. 6: 849. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16060849
APA StyleHussein, M. R. A., Bahkali, M., Hussein, T. M. R. A., Abu-Dief, E., & Abdulwahed, A. R. (2026). Primary Endometrial Lymphomas: A Systematic Review. Diagnostics, 16(6), 849. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16060849

