[Atrophy of the corpus mucosa of the stomach simulating polyposis]

We report on five cases of mucosal atrophy of the gastric body, under the aspect of a polyposis: These polyps showed intact mucosa with abundant fundic glands and were situated in the diffuse atrophic mucosa of the gastric body. Four of these cases were manifestations of type A gastritis, in one case the lesion surrounded a peptic ulcer. Laboratory findings of serologically analysed cases with type A gastritis showed elevated parietal cell antibodies in all cases, two of three cases showed a high level of gastrin, the values for vitamin B12 showed different levels; no patients revealed antibodies against the intrinsic factor, and no patient had pernicious anemia. The family history revealed three cases with cancer of the stomach on one side of the parents. It is important to biopsy polyps and the flat mucosa separately in order to verify this form of atrophy of the gastric mucosa and to also exclude small polypous tumors of the mucosa. Observation of the number of polyps allows a control of the extent of the atrophy of the mucosa.