Primary malignant tumours of the stomach are very rare in children, most being lymphomas and sarcomas. The majority of primary gastric lymphomas are high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and are of B-cell origin. However, a significant number are low-grade B-cell lymphomas that are derived from mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) that is not found in the normal stomach. Helicobacter pylori infection predisposes to the development of MALT in the stomach and provides the pathogenic background for MALT-type lymphomagenesis. To our knowledge, only eight paediatric cases of primary gastric lymphoma have been described. The diagnosis and follow-up of gastric lymphoma are mainly made by endoscopy. Nevertheless, radiologists must be aware of this disease because it may be observed on radiological examinations that are performed for non-specific upper digestive symptoms in children.
Although PJS is a childhood or teenage disease, patients should be closely monitored during adulthood because of the development of gastrointestinal and extragastrointestinal malignancies. Contrast studies remain the gold standard. However, radiological follow-up could be undertaken by US or MRI, which would not impose a radiation burden during life-time follow-up.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.