Gastric adenocarcinoma in a patient re-infected with H. pylori after regression of MALT lymphoma with successful anti-H. pylori therapy and gastric resection: a case report.

BACKGROUND

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been etiologically linked with primary gastric lymphoma (PGL) and gastric carcinoma (GC). There are a few reports of occurrence of both diseases in the same patients with H. pylori infection.

CASE PRESENTATION: We report a patient with PGL in whom the tumor regressed after surgical resection combined with eradication of H. pylori infection. However, he developed GC on follow up; this was temporally associated with recrudescence/re-infection of H. pylori. This is perhaps first report of such occurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Possible cause and effect relationship between H. pylori infection and both PGL and GC is discussed. This case also documents a unique problem in management of PGL in tropical countries where re-infection with H. pylori is supposed to be high.