Objective Achromobacter xylosoxidans (A. xylosoxidans) has been recently reported to have an association with the development of pulmonary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (
MALT) lymphoma in patients from European countries. However, the prevalence rates for A. xylosoxidans may vary significantly from country to country. To assess this association, the prevalence of A. xylosoxidans was analyzed in Japanese patients with pulmonary
B-cell lymphoma. Methods
DNA samples were obtained from
formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded sections of pulmonary
MALT lymphomas (n=52), diffuse large
B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs, n=18), and benign pulmonary lesions (n=19). All samples were histopathologically reviewed by experienced hematopathologists, and the clonality of all
MALT lymphoma cases was confirmed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based IGH rearrangement clonality assay. They were also tested for the API2-MALT1 fusion transcript. The presence of
bacterial DNA was assessed with a nested PCR, and
DNA sequencing was performed to confirm the PCR specificity. Results A. xylosoxidans
DNA was detected in 1/52 cases of pulmonary
MALT lymphoma, 2/18 cases of DLBCL, and 0/19 cases of benign pulmonary lesions. The prevalence of A. xylosoxidans in pulmonary
lymphoma was not significantly higher than in benign lesions. Conclusion The present study shows that A. xylosoxidans
infection may not be associated with pulmonary
B-cell lymphoma in a Japanese case series. Large-scale international studies are needed to clarify the role of A. xylosoxidans in pulmonary
lymphoma.