Purpose: To assess the treatment efficacy, long-term outcomes and ocular toxicity of ultra-low-dose radiotherapy (4 Gy) in managing conjunctival mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.
Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 15 patients with conjunctival MALT lymphoma between 2020 and 2022, who received 4 Gy radiotherapy (RT) delivered in consecutive 2-Gy fractions. The long-term outcomes included response rate, response time, recurrences or progression, and RT-related toxic effects.
Results: fifteen patients (eight males, seven females) all had histopathologically confirmed MALT lymphoma, which localized within unilateral or bilateral conjunctiva. At a median follow-up of 30 months (range, 9-48), complete response (CR) was observed in 89% of cases (n = 13) and partial response (PR) in 11% (n = 2), with a median time to CR of 2 months (range 1-12). Neither local nor distant recurrences were observed, and no disease progression occurred. There was no acute toxic effect in patients after RT. Only three patients developed mild dry eyes as a late treatment toxicity.
Conclusion: Ultra-low-dose RT presented an outstanding therapeutic effect on conjunctival MALT lymphoma with acceptable toxicity. Further studies like randomized controlled clinical trials can provide more evidence for clinical management.
Keywords: Conjunctival lymphoma; Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma; Orbital tumor; Ultra-low-dose radiotherapy.
© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.