Association Between Gastric Lymphoid Follicles (Precursor Of MALT Lymphomas) And Infection At A Referral Hospital In Iran.

Purpose: Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) is the most common endoscopic finding in positive patients that can progress to MALT lymphoma after a prolonged antigenic contact. This study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of lymphoid follicles and aggregates (precursors of MALT lymphomas) in gastric mucosal biopsies and their correlation with infection.

Patients And Methods: In this study, 100 patients who had undergone an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were enrolled. Five biopsy specimens were taken each patient through screening endoscopy and histopathological changes were evaluated and graded using the Wotherspoon System. The clinical background and infection status were also investigated.

Results: Among the 100 cases in our series, 79 patients (79%) showed evidence of MALT in at least one biopsy specimen taken from the stomach and 21 cases (21%) had no evidence of MALT. infection was detected in 74 (74%) patients. Lymphoid follicles were detected more frequently in -positive patients (59%) compared to -negative cases (3%) (P<0.001).

Conclusion: The frequency of lymphoid follicles and aggregates in gastric mucosal is associated with infection. Further community-based studies in larger sample sizes using a combination of microscopic methods and PCR assay are required for effective monitoring of infection.