Primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the gallbladder: report of a case harboring API2/MALT1 gene fusion.

The genetic alterations underlying extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphomas of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue type are heterogeneous and show variation according to the tumor site. Here, we report a case of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the gallbladder with genetic characterization. This lymphoma, diagnosed in a 75-year-old woman who underwent cholecystectomy for suspected acute cholecystitis, presented as diffuse thickening of the gallbladder wall. The morphology was typical of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and by immunophenotype, the tumor cells were CD20+ CD5- CD10- CD23- CD43- BCL6- BCL2+ IgM+ IgD- lambda+, with moderate nuclear expression of BCL10. Interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis on paraffin sections, using a fusion probe for API2/MALT1, demonstrated 2 fusion signals in most nuclei, bringing the first documentation of a t(11;18)(q21;q21) in this exceptional primary disease location.