| Theme |
Malignant Lymphoma of the GI Tract |
| Title |
Biopsy Diagnosis of Malignant Lymphoma of the Gastrointestinal Tract |
| Author |
Takaaki Sakoma |
Department of Pathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital |
| Author |
Touichiro Takizawa |
Department of Pathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital |
| [ Summary ] |
Definitive biopsy diagnosis of gastrointestinal malignant lymphoma may often be difficult, because lymphoma cells proliferate mostly in the submucosa and it is difficult to obtain tumor tissue. Furthermore, lymphoma cells are easily crushed by the biopsy forceps and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, reactive lymphoreticular hyperplasia and other diseases present problems with differential diagnosis. We describe the points of biopsy diagnosis of gastrointestinal malignant lymphoma and present typical and difficult cases of malignant lymphoma and other diseases. Immunohistochemical staining is useful for determining whether the lesion is malignant lymphoma or carcinoma. The analysis of gene rearrangements also facilitates distinguishing malignant lymphoma from reactive lymphoreticular hyperplasia. |