Indian Journal of Ophthalmology

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Year
: 2009  |  Volume : 57  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 72--73

Ocular adnexal lymphoma and infectious agents


Adriano M Pellicelli, Valerio Zoli, Daniele Remotti 
 San Camillo-Forlanini Hospital, Rome, Italy

Correspondence Address:
Adriano M Pellicelli
Via Terni 97 00182 Rome
Italy




How to cite this article:
Pellicelli AM, Zoli V, Remotti D. Ocular adnexal lymphoma and infectious agents.Indian J Ophthalmol 2009;57:72-73


How to cite this URL:
Pellicelli AM, Zoli V, Remotti D. Ocular adnexal lymphoma and infectious agents. Indian J Ophthalmol [serial online] 2009 [cited 2024 Mar 29 ];57:72-73
Available from: https://journals.lww.com/ijo/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?2009/57/1/72/44500


Full Text

Dear Editor,

We read with interest the article by Das et al . [1] on ocular adnexal lymphoma in the northeast Indian population, but we wish to raise some questions about this article. Marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) type is the most frequent non-Hodgkin lymphoma arising from ocular adnexa. Ocular adnexal lymphoma of MALT (OAML) type could be induced by a chronic antigenic stimulation provided by different agents as suggested in different studies. [2],[3] In some cases, a role of Chlamydia psittaci was hypothesized in the etiology of OAML. Tumor regression was observed in patients positive for Chlamydia infection and treated with doxycicline. [4] This supports the hypothesis of some infectious disease agents in the etiology of OAML. As for other B-cell lymphomas, hepatitis C virus (HCV) could play a role in the development of OAML. HCV seropositivity has been detected in 13% of OAML patients and seems to be associated with more aggressive and disseminated lymphomas. [3] In our experience, in a patient affected by OAML and with a chronic active hepatitis C infection, a treatment with pegylated interferon associated to ribavirine has induced a complete remission of the ocular mass and a disappearance of lymphoid infiltrates on bone marrow biopsy. Das et al . [1] did not report whether the patients were positive for an HCV infection or had a positivity for chlamydial infection. As reported above, a bacteria-eradicating therapy as doxycycline or a specific anti-HCV treatment could have been useful as treatment of OAML patients.

References

1Das D, Deka P, Bhattacharjee K, Das JK, Kuri G, Deka AC, et al . Ocular adnexal lymphoma in the northeast Indian population. Indian J Ophthalmol 2008;56:153-5.
2Ferreri AJ, Guidoboni M, Ponzoni M, De Conciliis C, Dell'Orto S, Fleischhauer K, et al . Evidence for an association between chlamydia psittaci and ocular adnexal lymphoma. J Natl Cancer Inst 2004;96:586-94.
3Ferreri AJ, Viale E, Guidoboni M, Resti AG, De Conciliis C, Politi L, et al . Clinical implications of hepatitis C virus infection in MALT type lymphoma of the ocular adnexa. Ann Oncol 2006;17:769-72.
4Ferreri AJ, Ponzoni M, Guidoboni M, Resti AG, Politi LS, Cortelazzo S, et al . Bacteria eradicating therapy with doxycycline in ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma: A multi center prospective trial. J Natl Cancer Inst 2006;98:1375-82.