Gastric carcinoma with lymphoid stroma. Its morphologic characteristics and prognostic correlations.

A type of gastric carcinoma was specified under the designation carcinoma with lymphoid stroma. Grossly, this carcinoma was characterized by clear circumscription, usually with a central ulceration. A histologic feature distinguishing this carcinoma was the presence of a nondesmoplastic stroma infiltrated uniformly with an abundance of lymphocytes and plasma cells throughout the entire area of the tumor. Sparse population of less pleomorphic cancer cell nests of thin trabecular, microalveolar, or primitive tubular pattern widely separated by the intervening stroma was another feature peculiar to this tumor. Carcinoma of this type was found in 4% of a total of 1041 cases of gastric carcinoma removed surgically. A high survival rate was noted among the patients undergoing surgery for this carcinoma. A proposal was made on the separate classification of this tumor from common gastric carcinomas.