THE GROWTH OF PRIMARY LOW-GRADE B-CELL GASTRIC LYMPHOMA IS SUSTAINED BY HELICOBACTER-PYLORI

Background: The growth of primary low-grade B-cell gastric mucosa-asso ciated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is an antigen-dependent process . Case: We were able to document the influence of Helicobacter pylori on the natural history of primary low-grade B-cell gastric MALT lympho ma in a case investigated by means of polymerase chain reaction for Ig H rearrangement. In this case the presence or absence of the bacterium appeared to affect both clinical manifestations and histologic featur es of the neoplasia, with an acceleration or a slowing down of the neo plastic expansion, respectively. Conclusions: We identified H. pylori as an antigenic stimulus that supports the growth of MALT-type lymphom a. This finding enables us to make some considerations about the manag ement of the disease.