Antral G-cell hyperplasia: a vanishing disease?

The diagnosis and management of antral gastrin-(G-) cell hyperplasia was a major topic of interest in the 1970s. Following the discovery of Helicobacter pylori in the 1980s, little attention was paid to this condition until it was shown that H. pylori infection was associated with hypergastrinaemia and that eradication of the organism returned the gastrin level to normal. Recent reports have examined the relationship between H. pylori and antral G-cell hyperplasia. H. pylori infection is present in about 50% of cases of antral G-cell hyperplasia and, importantly, eradication of the organism normalizes not only the gastrin level but also the antral G-cell count. Eradication treatment should be the therapy of choice. It is also of interest that H. pylori-negative antral G-cell hyperplasia or hyperfunction does exist. The historical aspects, the relationship between antral G-cell hyperplasia and H. pylori and recent case reports are reviewed.