Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (MALT) Lymphoma

Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) is an extranodal lymphoma composed of morphologically heterogeneous small B-cells including marginal zone (centrocyte-like) cells, cells resembling monocytoid cells, small lymphocytes, and scattered immunoblasts and centroblast-like cells. There is plasma cell differentiation in a proportion of the cases. The infiltrate is in the marginal zone of reactive B-cell follicles and extends into the interfollicular region. In epithelial tissues, the neoplastic cells typically infiltrate the epithelium forming lymphoepithelial lesions. (Swerdlow et al., 2008) (Isaacson et al., 2004)