[Gastric MALT lymphoma of low-grade malignancy. Apropos of 4 surgically treated cases]

From 1990 to 1993, programmed surgery was performed in four patients with histologically low grade malignant gastric lymphomas of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) (partial gastrectomy = 1, total gastrectomy = 3). These small cell lymphomas have the B phenotype and are uncommon. The clinical course is usually slow and classically limited to the stomach. As for other gastric lymphomas, there is still a certain amount of discussion as to the best therapeutic choice between surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Certain elements in the literature can help in managing these low grade gastric lymphomas. Recent publications report on a prospective study on primary lymphomas of the digestive tract, a clinical trial on single drug chemotherapy alone and the relationships between Helicobacter pylori and MALT lymphoma.