[Gastric mucosa in esophageal cancer]

The fundal mucous membrane was examined histologically and morphometrically in 92 patients with oesophageal cancer and 5 patients with cancer of the cardial part of the stomach greatly extended into the oesophagus; the mucosa was obtained by operational biopsy. In 4.1% of the observations the mucosa was unchanged, in 30.9 per cent superficial gastritis, in 26.8% moderately marked atrophic and in 38.2% marked atrophic gastritis were found. In most patients gastritis appeared to preceed the main disease. A certain correlation was observed between the degree of atrophy of the gastric mucosa and the reduction of the secretory function, but this was observed in some of the patients only. In half of the patients with superficial gastritis achlorhydria was demonstrated.