The Full Form of MALT is‍ MALToma.

Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that develops when white blood cells called lymphocytes grow out of control. Lymphocytes are part of your immune system. They travel around your body in your lymphatic system, helping you fight infections. There are two types of lymphocyte: B lymphocytes (B cells) and T lymphocytes (T cells).

Lymphomas can be grouped as Hodgkin lymphomas or non-Hodgkin lymphomas, depending on the types of cell they contain. MALT lymphoma is a slow-growing (low-grade) non-Hodgkin lymphoma that develops from B cells. It is a type of marginal zone lymphoma: a lymphoma that develops in a particular region at the edge of lymphoid tissues (collections of lymphocytes) called the marginal zone.

There are three types of marginal zone lymphoma:

• MALT lymphoma (extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue), which develops in lymphoid tissue outside lymph nodes
• nodal marginal zone lymphoma, which develops in lymph nodes
• splenic marginal zone lymphoma, which develops in the spleen.

MALT lymphoma is the most common type of marginal zone lymphoma, but it is still rare. Only around 8 in every 100 people diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma have MALT lymphoma.

MALT lymphoma can develop almost anywhere in the body, but it most often develops in the stomach. MALT lymphomas are normally divided into:

• gastric (stomach) MALT lymphoma, which makes up about a third of all MALT lymphomas
• non-gastric MALT lymphoma, which most commonly affects the salivary glands, thyroid, lungs, skin, gut (bowel) or tissues around the eye.