However, other hereditary, dietary, or environmental factors are almost certainly involved.
It is not known if infectious agents also cause MALT lymphomas outside of the stomach.
MALT lymphomas are generally indolent, that is, they grow slowly and cause little in the way of symptoms.
MALT lymphomas are then recognized as areas of inflammation or ulceration within the stomach.
MALT lymphomas occur at a frequency of about 1.5 per 100,000 people per year in the United States and account for about 10% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
Those MALT lymphomas that arise in the stomach in response to H. pylori infections are generally successfully treated with antibiotics, which eliminate the bacteria.
it is standard practice that patients presenting with MALT lymphomas should be evaluated in a similar manner to individuals with nodal lymphomas, the more common type of lymphoma that originates at sites within the lymphoid system.
In some cases, such as in the thyroid, MALT lymphomas seem to arise in patients who have autoimmune diseases, which make their immune systems treat their own tissue as foreign or antigenic.
The frequency varies among different populations. For example, in parts of Italy the frequency of MALT lymphomas is as high as 13 per 100,000 people per year.
In the United States, where infections with H. pylori are quite common, less than 1 in 30,000 people who have H. pylori in their stomachs develop MALT lymphomas.
The frequency varies among different populations. For example, in parts of Italy the frequency of MALT lymphomas is as high as 13 per 100,000 people per year.
Effective treatment for these lymphomas has been achieved with local radiation, chemotherapy, and/or interferon.
Individuals who develop MALT lymphomas are more likely to develop other forms of cancer.