Gastric neuroendocrine carcinoma associated with atrophic gastritis in the norwegian lundehund

In humans and rodents the association between atrophic gastritis, hypergastrinemia and gastric neoplasia is well-documented. Gastric tumours are rare in dogs, but the Norwegian Lundehund (puffin dog) appears predisposed to the development of gastric neoplasia associated with chronic atrophic gastritis. The present study describes 8 Lundehunds with gastric neoplasia. Seven of these animals had concurrent chronic atrophic gastritis characterized by reduction in parietal cells and hyperplasia of neuroendocrine cells. Four of the tumours displayed neuroendocrine (enterochromaffin-like cell; ECL) differentiation, suggesting that hypergastrinemia secondary to fundic atrophy may be important in carcinogenesis. The Norwegian Lundehund may therefore represent a further animal model for the study of the role of gastrin in the induction of gastric neoplasia.