Primary low-grade B-cell lymphoma of MALT-type occurring in the liver: a study of two cases

Background/Methods: Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of the liver are rare, One specific clinico-pathological entity has been identified as hepatosplenic gamma/delta T-cell lymphoma, Recently, another distinct primary lymphoma of the liver has been recognised as primary low-grade hepatic B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), based on a study comprising four cases, We analysed two additional cases of this particular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, not only by morphology and phenotyping, but also by genotyping and cytogenetic analysis. Results: This type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is characterised by a dense lymphoid infiltrate, localised in the portal tracts, and is associated with lymphoepithelial lesions of the bile ducts, thereby mimicking hepatitis or an inflammatory bile duct disorder, In one of our cases, translocation t(3;14)(q27;q32) was identified as the sole cytogenetic abnormality, A high incidence of trisomy 3 has been associated with marginal zone B-cell lymphomas, and fluorescence in situ hybridisation as well as comparative genomic hybridisation studies hare shown frequent involvement of the long arm of chromosome 3, Nevertheless, t(3;14)(q27;q32) involving BCL6 gene, located at 3q27, has not yet been found. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a role for the BCL6 gene in the histogenesis of this particular lymphoma.