1986 Volume 47 Issue 4 Pages 465-469
A 67-year-old man was referred to our hospital for precise medical examination of a gastric lesion. An upper GI series disclosed a semipedunclated submucosal tumor with mucosal redness around the erosion on the apical lesion in the anterior wall of the gastric fundus.
By routine endoscopic biopsy, the specimen showed simple atrophic gastritis. For the definite diagnosis, endoscopic polypectomy was performed. The tumor, measurting 2.8×2.5×1.9cm in size, was located in the submucosal layer almost encapsulated by fibrotic tissue and was histologically diagnosed as carcinoid. Biochemical analysis showed normal data. In consideration of the fact that the carcinoid tumor was a malignant neoplasm, a total gastrectomy with splenectomy and a regional lymphadenectomy were performed curatively.
It is well known that a small carcinoid tumor of the stomach often exists in the form of submucosal tumor. Thus, specimens taken by a routine endoscopic biopsy from these particular neoplasms commonly show non-neoplastic gastric morphology. In contrast to these ordinary procedures, the endoscopic polypectomy applied to the case is very useful for making definite histological diagnosis of carcinoid tumor preoperatively.
