Small Bowel Obstruction Due to MALT Lymphoma: Sonographic Appearance and CT Correlation

Extranodal marginal zone lymphomas comprise approximately 5% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas. These tumors may arise in any epithelial tissue, including the bowel lining. A report is presented of a patient who presented to the emergency department with epigastric abdominal pain and vomiting. An abdominal sonogram showed a 3.1 cm dilated loop of small bowel near midline just above the umbilicus as well as an abrupt transition zone to normal bowel suggestive of small bowel obstruction, confirmed by subsequent computed tomography. Small bowel resection found an intraluminal tumor, and biopsy showed extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma).