Eradication therapy in Helicobacter pylori-negative, gastric low-grade mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma patients: a systematic review.

Aim: To assess the remission rate of gastric low-grade B-cell mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma after an eradication therapy in Helicobacter pylori-negative patients. Methods: We performed a systematic review with pooled analysis of published studies. Data were analyzed according to: (1) number of H. pylori-negative patients treated with only eradication therapy; (2) number of patients in whom the complete lymphoma remission was achieved; and (3) the method used to exclude H. pylori infection. Results: Overall, 11 studies with 110 patients met the inclusion criteria for this pooled analysis. H. pylori infection was excluded in all studies with at least 3 different diagnostic tests. Eradication therapy achieved a complete lymphoma regression in 17 (15.5%; 95% confidence interval, 8.7-22.2) patients. Conclusions: Eradication therapy is successful in a small but distinct subgroup of H. pylori-negative patients with low-grade mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. On the basis of the generally indolent behavior of this neoplasia, before resorting to aggressive, costly, and potentially more toxic oncologic therapies, it would seem reasonable to attempt eradication therapy in all patients, irrespective of their H. pylori status.