Oncocytic adenocarcinoma of the stomach: parietal cell carcinoma

We report 10 cases of an unusual type of gastric adenocarcinoma that occurred in elderly patients 58-81 years of age. Histologically, the tumors were well to moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinomas with very eosinophilic, finely granular cytoplasm. Immunohistochemical stains for antimitochondrial antibody were strongly positive. Ultrastructurally, the tumor cells had numerous mitochondria in their cytoplasm and occasional intracytoplasmic lumina with associated long microvilli. These histologic and ultrastructural features are similar to those of parietal cells in normal gastric fundic mucosa, but immunohistochemical staining of the tumors using four different antiparietal cell antibodies (anti-H(+)-K(+)-adenosine triphosphatase antibodies) was negative in all cases. Therefore, we think that these tumors were not parietal cell carcinomas but could be termed oncocytic adenocarcinomas, or adenocarcinomas with oncocytic differentiation. Previously reported cases of parietal cell carcinoma have been said to have a favorable prognosis, but it will be necessary to study a larger number of cases to determine the prognosis of oncocytic adenocarcinoma.