[Lymphoma of the salivary glands. New nosologic frontiers].

The classification of salivary lymphomas, including the ambiguous Mikulicz syndrome, has been considerably modified in recent years thanks to advances in immuno-histochemistry. Following the distinction between pseudo-lymphoma and true lymphoma, made possible by the latter, the situation has now become less clear due to the existence of possible transition between the two entities. Moreover, the increasing identification of a particular form of lymphoma involving the salivary glands in Sjogren's syndrome (MALT type lymphoma - centrocytic-like) analogous to that seen in the gastrointestinal tract, now opens up the possibility of very early diagnosis of these tumours. However, the significance in terms of treatment of this monoclonal variant as a tumour criterion still remains difficult to define.