[Submucosal invasion in gastric carcinoma of the fundic area]

Gastric carcinoma of the undifferentiated type in the fundic gland area has a higher tendency for submucosal invasion than carcinoma located in the pyloric gland area. To investigate whether a similar tendency is present also in a cancerous focus, we studied 147 patients with early gastric carcinomas with submucosal invasion. Out of 27 undifferentiated carcinomas located in the intermediate zone, 20 (54%) showed peripheral submucosal invasion; in 16(80%) of these, the invasion was located near or in the fundic gland area. These results indicate that submucosal invasion is more likely to occur towards the fundic area.