[Cancer of the gastric stump]

627 cases of gastric cancer treated surgically during the last 5 years, at the Hospital Nacional "Edgardo Rebagliati Martins" from Instituto Peruano de Seguridad Social (Lima-Perú) were revised. 4 of the patients had been operated before of hemigastrectomy or antrectomy with pyloroplasty for peptic ulcer. The time between the first operation and diagnosis of cancer of the gastric stump was more than 20 years. 3 of these cases were able to be resected. The international incidence of cancer in the gastric stump is 1.1% to 9.2% according to different authors. The risk is higher after 15 years. In the pathogenesis are advocated the lower gastric acidity, biliary reflux, the presence of bacteria, the formation of nitrosamines, intestinal metaplasia, etc. Is necessary to perform periodic endoscopic survey in patients who were treated surgically of peptic ulcer with antrectomy or hemigastrectomy with more than 15 years of evolution.