An uncommon lesion: gastric xanthelasma

Although the clinical significance of gastric xanthelasmas is unclear, they are important lesions because they may be confused with malignant lesions. The etiopathogenesis is also unclear, but chronic gastritis, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia have been implicated. Xanthelasma is more frequent in women and its incidence increases with age. The lesions are frequently located in the stomach, and less frequently in the esophagus, duodenum and the colon. The lesions have a yellowish-white appearance, are between 0.5 and 10 mm in size and can be single or multiple. Xanthelasmas were found to be associated with chronic gastritis, gastrointestinal anastomoses, intestinal metaplasia, and H. pylori infection. These lesions are predisposing conditions for gastric cancer. Therefore, endoscopic biopsy is mandatory and careful follow-up is required. In this paper, four patients who attended hospital with abdominal pain and dyspepsia and by chance were found to have xanthelasmas on endoscopic examination are presented, and gastric xanthelasmas are discussed.