Clinical And Molecular Pathology Investigation During The Sequential Progression From Gastric Benign Lymphoid Hyperplasia To Gastric MALT Lymphoma

Background and AimsGastric MALT lymphoma is the most common extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which originates from the background of acquired mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue(MALT). There are several lines of evidences that suggest that gastric MALT lymphoma arises from MALT acquired as the result of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori) infection. However, the detailed molecular events underlying the multistep progression of the tumor remain unknown. Recently, more attention has been paid to chromosome translocation t(11; 18)(q21 ;q21) which is regarded as characteristic translocation and a marker of progression of MALT lymphoma from H.pylori-dependent to H.pylori-independent. The translocation t(11;18)(q21;q21) causes overexpression of BCL10 , an apoptosis regulatory molecule which has been shown to gain transforming ability of the cells and inhibition of apoptosis, resulting to constitutive activation of the NF-kB pathway mimicking engagement of the antigen receptor complex , driving antigen-independent growth and lymphomatous progression. The early...