Mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the conjunctiva
S. Hardman-Lea, M. Kerr-Muir, A. C. Wotherspoon, W. T. Green, A. Morell and P. G. Isaacson
Department of Ophthalmology, St Thomas' Hospital, London, England.
The recognition of mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue as a distinct entity
has lead to the separate classification of tumors arising in this tissue,
ie, the mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Five patients with
mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the conjunctiva are
described herein; four of the five patients had bilateral tumors.
Laboratory analysis was done using microscopy, immunophenotyping, gene
rearrangement analysis using both Southern blot and polymerase chain
reaction techniques, and oncogene (bcl-1, bcl-2, and c-myc) rearrangement
studies. Typical mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma features were
seen in all patients; three of four patients who underwent testing with
immunphenotyping had light-chain restriction, four of five patients had a
clone detected using Southern blot analysis, and all five patients showed
clones on polymerase chain reaction analysis. No patient demonstrated
oncogene rearrangement. In all patients, complete physical examinations and
laboratory tests did not detect any evidence of systemic spread. After
treatment, no evidence of local recurrence or dissemination was found
during follow-up ranging from 2 to 3 years.
