Gastric carcinoids with minimal or no macroscopic lesion in patients with pernicious anemia.

In a series of 44 patients with pernicious anemia examined by gastroscopy, three cases of gastric carcinoids were found. During the same ten-year period about 11,000 gastroscopies were performed on patients not suffering from pernicious anemia, and only one case of gastric carcinoid was detected. In two of the cases no endoscopic lesion was seen and the carcinoid was detectable only at histological examination, while in one case an unusual combination of carcinoid tumor and tubular adenoma in the same polyp was found. Most of the carcinoids arose in atrophic body mucosa, but in one case the mucosa around the carcinoid showed antral properties. One patient had slightly elevated values of pancreatic polypeptide, while no hormonal activity was found in others. No growth or spread of the carcinoid was observed during follow-up. It is suggested that the same pathogenetic factors may operate in the genesis of gastric carcinoid and gastric carcinoma in patients with pernicious anemia.