Gastric mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

Gastric marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) is the predominant entity within the primary gastrointestinal lymphomas. Helicobacter pylori represents the decisive pathogenetic factor for gastric MALT lymphoma. The goal of treating gastric MALT lymphoma should be complete cure. The first choice of treatment is H pylori eradication. Patients with histologically persistent residual lymphoma after successful H pylori eradication and normalization of endoscopic findings should be managed by a watch-and-wait strategy. Patients who do not respond to H pylori eradication should be referred for radiation or chemotherapy.