Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology Advance Access originally published online on June 23, 2005
Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2005 35(7):412-416; doi:10.1093/jjco/hyi105
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© 2005 Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
Case Report |
Extranodal Marginal Zone B-cell Lymphoma of Mucosa-associated Lymphoid Tissue (MALT Lymphoma) in the Thymus: Report of Four Cases
1 Division of Thoracic Surgery, 2 Pathology Division and 3 Division of Oncology/Hematology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba and 4 Pathology Division, Saitama General Medical Center Hospital, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan
For reprints and all correspondence: Atsushi Ochiai, Pathology Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute East, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan. E-mail: aochiai{at}east.ncc.go.jp
Received December 2, 2004; accepted March 8, 2005
Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma in the thymus is extremely rare, and little is known about its clinicopathological features. In this study, we examined four cases of MALT lymphoma in the thymus at our institute in terms of clinicopathological features. Most patients had autoimmune disease or hyperglobulinemia, and they also had cysts in the tumors. Both elevated serum levels of autoantibodies and the polyclonal increase in serum Ig remained almost unchanged after total thymectomy in all patients. We recommend that MALT lymphoma in the thymus should be considered in the differential diagnosis when a cystic thymic mass is found and if the patient is Asian and/or has autoimmune disease or hyperglobulinemia.
Key Words: MALT lymphoma thymus autoimmune disease hyperglobulinemia