[Two cases of carcinoid tumor of the stomach and a collective review of the Japanese literature].

We report two cases of carcinoid tumor of the stomach together with a collective review of the Japanese literature. Case 1 was preoperatively diagnosed as carcinoid, and the lesion, measuring 10 X 7 mm, and located in the body of the stomach, had no metastases. Case 2 was preoperatively diagnosed as gastric cancer and was recognized as a submucosal tumor measuring 5.8 X 4.7 cm in the antrum of the stomach. There were metastases to the brain and the skin, and the patient died on the 50th day after the operation. From a collective review of previous cases, it was ascertained that small carcinoid tumors sometimes had metastases. For this reason, we feel gastrectomy should be performed together with local lymph node resection.