Bacteria associated with marginal zone lymphomas

In the last decades some bacteria have been associated with a various extent with marginal zone (extra nodal, nodal and splenic types) lymphomas are frequently associated with chronic infections, with important clinical, molecular, biological, and therapeutic implications. The well-known correlation between Helicobacter pylori and gastric MALT-lymphoma, the recently reported links between Chlamydia psittaci and ocular adnexal MALT-lymphoma and Borrelia burgdorferi and cutaneous MALT lymphoma constitute the most studied examples; in addition, Campylobacter jejuni and some more recent associations encompassing Achromobacter xylosoxidans and Haemophilus influenzae will be further reported. Biological and clinical features, therapeutic implications and future perspectives of these lymphoma-microbial associations are discussed in this review.