Long-term follow-up of gastric MALT lymphoma after H. pylori eradication

For almost 10 years, we have been familiar with the concept of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)-type lymphoma of the stomach caused by chronic Helicobacter pylori infection. Many epidemiologic, biologic, and molecular genetic studies have implicated H. pylori for its role in lymphoma genesis. Since the first reports on complete remission of gastric MALT lymphomas after cure of bacterial infection, many clinical studies have investigated the effect of eradicating H. pylori on the course of MALT lymphoma, and indeed were able to confirm remission of the lymphoma. To date, more than 650 patients worldwide have been treated for gastric MALT lymphoma with antibiotics, and we have gained many new insights concerning the biologic behavior of this disease, especially from the deepened knowledge of cytogenetics. Furthermore, factors relevant for the prediction of treatment outcome have been identified, which has helped to stratify patients into risk groups.