Helicobacter pylori-associated gastric MALT lymphoma in liver transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND

Immunosuppressed transplant recipients are at increased risk of developing several forms of malignancy. The aim of this study is to report the clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome of four liver transplant recipients with Helicobacter pylori-associated gastric mucosae-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.

METHODS

The medical records of four liver transplant recipients with gastric MALT lymphoma were reviewed. In situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr-encoded ribonucleic acid was performed on formalin-fixed tissues.

RESULTS

All four subjects presented with abdominal symptoms at a mean of 6.1 years posttransplant. Ulcerative lesions biopsied at endoscopy demonstrated early-stage gastric MALT lymphoma with associated Helicobacter pylori gastritis. In situ hybridization revealed no evidence of Epstein-Barr virus infection in examined tissues. Antibiotic eradication of Helicobacter pylori lead to disease remission in three subjects with a mean follow-up of 21 months, and one subject failed to respond to antibiotics and radiation therapy and died from metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Early-stage, low-grade gastric MALT lymphoma that was associated with Helicobacter pylori gastritis responded to antibiotic therapy with a sustained clinical remission in three of four treated subjects. If other studies confirm a higher than expected incidence of gastric MALT lymphoma in immunosuppressed transplant recipients with Helicobacter pylori infection, screening and treating Helicobacter pylori infection in selected transplant patients may prove beneficial.