Endoscopic mucosal resection for esophageal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma: a case report

Esophageal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is a very rare disease, and the clinical characteristics have not been clearly defined. Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) has been introduced for the treatment of a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, but its therapeutic potential for MALT lymphoma remains uncertain. Here we report a case of primary esophageal MALT lymphoma. A 48-year-old man was referred to our hospital for the evaluation of an esophageal submucosal tumor (SMT) that had been detected incidentally by endoscopy. Endoscopy detected the presence of a longitudinally round and tubular shaped smooth elevated lesion in esophagus. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) also confirmed the discovery of a longitudinally growing hypoechoic mass located in the submucosal layer of the esophagus. Subsequently, he underwent EMR to remove the lesion, and the pathology of the resected specimen diagnosed the mass as primary esophageal B-cell lymphoma of MALT type. In addition, this case report may help further the current understanding on this disease.