Superficial spreading type of early gastric lymphomas.

Recent advances in diagnostic techniques have increased the apparent incidence of gastric lymphomas at an early stage. However, the clinical features of the superficial spreading type of early gastric lymphoma are not well-documented. We retrospectively examined the clinicopathologic features of 5 patients with the superficial spreading type of early gastric lymphoma. These tumours were MALTomas which had a characteristically difficult diagnosis and indistinct tumour margins, and a high incidence of lymph node involvement was found. We conclude that satisfactory treatment of this neoplasm requires a wide resection of the stomach with extensive lymph node dissection.