The distribution of gastritis in carcinoma of the stomach

Abstract

Twenty-one stomachs resected for carcinoma were studied histologically using the ‘Swiss-roll’ technique. Chronic gastritis with epithelial hyperplasia was present in all. There were two types of distribution of the gastritis. In 17 instances it extended continuously from the pylorus proximally up to or beyond the carcinoma. This type of gastritis could be due to reflux of duodenal contents into the stomach. In 4 stomachs the gastritis occurred only in the vicinity of the tumour but did not extend from the pylorus and could therefore not be the result of duodenal reflux. It is postulated that there may be two kinds of carcinoma. One type is associated with the epithelial hyperplasia of chronic gastritis, possibly resulting from duodenal reflux into the stomach, The other is also associated with chronic gastritis but the distribution does not suggest duodenal reflux.