[Study on neuro-endocrine type of gastric carcinoma]

One hundred patients with gastric carcinoma resected surgically were studied by PAP immunoperoxidase and ultrastructural method. It was found that the tumor cells were positive for gastrin, serotonin, somatostatin as well as argyrophil particles in 19 patients. In these 19 patients, the quantity of endocrine tumor cells surpassed half of its total cancer cells in 4, leading to a separate entity of neuroendocrine gastric carcinoma. The authors hope to introduce this new subtype into the classification of gastric carcinoma. Among the 100 cases, 50 patients with undifferentiated carcinomas contained the NE cells in 16 (32%), the remains for high differentiated adenocarcinomas had the NE cells in 3 (6%) only. It was suggested that the appearance of NE tumor cells was closely correlated to differentiation of gastric carcinoma. This study theoretically demonstrated the heterogenicity of gastric carcinoma and supported the theory that different kinds of tumor cells (endocrine and nonendocrine) may have a common origin and are derived from the endoembryogenetic immature precursor cells.