Malakoplakia of the esophagus caused by human papillomavirus infection

Abstract

Malakoplakia is a rare granulomatous disease probably caused by infection and characterized histologically by Michaelis-Gutmann bodies. We report a more rarely seen case esophageal malakoplakia in a 54-year-old woman. She presented with coughing while eating and drinking. Gastroscopy showed yellow nodules in the esophagus, and endoscopic ultrasonography showed a space-occupying lesion in the substratum of the esophageal mucosa. All findings highly resembled esophageal cancer. Histopathological examination finally indentified this space-occupying lesion as malakoplakia and not cancer. Immunohistochemistry showed that she had human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the esophagus, which indicates that infection was responsible for the malakoplakia. This is believed to be the first case of malakoplakia in the esophagus, and more importantly, we established that HPV infection was the initiator of esophageal malakoplakia.

Malakoplakia in Thoracic Transplant Recipients

“…Other associated pathogens include mycobacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Pasturella multocida, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Whipple's disease and syphilis (3,(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). In addition, concomitant infections with non-bacterial agents including Candida albicans, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, parasites such as Taenia species and viruses including Herpes simplex and Human papilloma virus have been described (3,12,(15)(16)(17)(18). Given that phagocytosis appears to be central to the pathogenesis, both host and microbial factors warrant further investigation for the identification of specific molecular mechanisms linking innate immune responses and pathogen recognition in malakoplakia.…”

Malakoplakia in Association with Adenocarcinoma of Sigmoid Colon; A Case Report

“…Malakoplakia is a granulomatous disease of infectious origin (1). This rare disease is usually seen in the genitourinary system (1, 2). However, different organs such as gastrointestinal tract, skin, lung and central nervous system have also been reported to be affected (1-4).…”

“…However, different organs such as gastrointestinal tract, skin, lung and central nervous system have also been reported to be affected (1-4). Malakoplakia generally occurs in immunocompromised patients, though atypical presentation in immunocompetent subjects has also been reported (2, 3). Malakoplakia of the gastrointestinal tract and the other visceral organs has been rarely reported (1, 5).…”