Clinical management of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma

Gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is often associated with chronic Helicobacter pylori infection. For an accurate diagnosis of gastric MALT lymphoma, clinical suspicion and careful endoscopic examination with multiple biopsies should be performed, and the final pathological confirmation should be provided. Gastric MALT lymphomas present with nonspecific symptoms and endoscopic findings. In most cases, H. pylori infection is the main cause of gastric MALT lymphoma. Therefore, H. pylori eradication should be considered the first-line treatment, even in cases of H. pylori-negative gastric MALT lymphoma. Radiotherapy or chemotherapy can be considered in patients in whom eradication therapy has failed. Because the clinical course of gastric MALT lymphoma is usually indolent, the "watch-and-wait" strategy is one of the choices for selected patients who can undergo scheduled regular follow-up examination.