A case of primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the larynx,

Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi
Department of Paediatrics, Al-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq

Correspondence Address:
Prof. Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi
P.O. Box 55302, Baghdad Post Office, Baghdad 

How to cite this article: Al-Mendalawi MD. A case of primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the larynx. J Laryngol Voice 2018;8:50

How to cite this URL: Al-Mendalawi MD. A case of primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the larynx. J Laryngol Voice [serial online] 2018 [cited 2019 Jul 24];8:50. Available from: http://www.laryngologyandvoice.org/text.asp?2018/8/2/50/263375

Sir,

I read with interest the case report by Gandhi et al.^[1] on primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the larynx in an Indian patient. The authors described nicely the clinical presentation, results of videolaryngostroboscopic examination, findings of histopathological analysis and immunohistochemical staining, and cycles of chemotherapy in the studied patient. I assume that the rarity of the tumor to affect the larynx should alert the authors to consider defective immune status in the studied patient. Among conditions associated with defective immune states, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is of great importance. My assumption is based on the following point. It is obvious that individuals infected with HIV are more vulnerable to various types of tumors compared to healthy individuals. The increased vulnerability has been suggested to be related to various factors, including low immunity, coinfection with oncogenic viruses, and prolongation of life due to the use of antiretroviral therapy.^[2] Among tumors, MALT lymphoma has been reported in HIV-positive patients.^[3] To my knowledge, India is one of the Asian countries significantly facing the serious health aftermaths of HIV infection. The available data pointed out to 0.26% HIV seroprevalence compared with a global average of 0.2%.^[4] Hence, defining HIV status in the studied patient by the diagnostic panel of blood CD4 lymphocyte count and viral overload estimations was envisaged. If that cluster of tests were to disclose HIV reactivity, the case in question could be surely regarded a novel case report. This is because HIV-associated laryngeal MALT lymphoma has never been reported in the world literature so far.

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References

1.	Gandhi S, Gupta S, Joshi S, Ghosh S. A case of primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the larynx. J Laryngol Voice 2017;7:40-2.     [Full text]
2.	Valencia Ortega ME. Malignancies and infection due to the human immunodeficiency virus. Are these emerging diseases? Rev Clin Esp 2018;218:149-55.
3.	Boulanger E, Meignin V, Baia M, Molinier-Frenkel V, Leroy K, Oksenhendler E, et al. Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Br J Haematol 2008;140:470-4.
4.	Paranjape RS, Challacombe SJ. HIV/AIDS in India: an overview of the Indian epidemic. Oral Dis 2016;22 Suppl 1:10-4.