Can Helicobacter pylori infection cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma?

Most people with the infection do not develop lymphoma, but persistent stimulation of immune tissue in the stomach can allow abnormal lymphocytes to grow.

Helicobacter pylori lives in the stomach lining and can cause ongoing inflammation. Immune cells gather in response to that inflammation. In some people, a group of B lymphocytes begins multiplying abnormally within this mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, producing gastric MALT lymphoma.

This specific lymphoma differs from many other non-Hodgkin lymphomas because treating the bacterial trigger can be part of its management. Diagnosis still requires tissue from an endoscopy; symptoms or an infection test alone cannot establish lymphoma.

A clinician can test for active Helicobacter pylori infection using an appropriate breath, stool, or endoscopy-based test. If infection is present, prescribed treatment usually combines acid suppression with antibiotics, followed by a test to confirm that the bacteria have cleared.

When gastric MALT lymphoma is diagnosed, gastroenterology and haematology teams review the biopsy and assess its extent. Eradication treatment may be used first in suitable cases, while persistent or more extensive disease may need another lymphoma treatment.

Book a medical assessment for persistent upper-abdominal pain, early fullness when eating, repeated nausea, unexplained weight loss, or ongoing fatigue. Vomiting blood, passing black tar-like stool, fainting, severe abdominal pain, or being unable to keep fluids down warrants urgent medical care.

You might ask which test can show active infection, whether medicines could affect its accuracy, and how clearance will be confirmed. If a biopsy found lymphoma, ask what subtype was identified, whether it is limited to the stomach, and how the team will check the response after treatment.