Gastric carcinoid: a rare form of gastrointestinal carcinoids. A report on three cases

The stomach is an uncommon site for carcinoid tumors, the incidence of which is about 2% of all carcinoids. During a five-year period, from 1988 to 1992, three patients with gastric carcinoid tumors were diagnosed at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. Their ages ranged from 59 to 68 years, and all were male. Two patients were referred for investigation of anemia, and one patient presented with massive hematemesis and an advanced ulcerated tumor requiring emergency total gastrectomy. Of the other two patients, one had pernicious anemia with multiple carcinoid polyps, and the other had sessile carcinoid nodules. None of the patients had carcinoid syndrome. Two patients underwent gastrectomy, while the patient with polyps had an endoscopic polypectomy. Follow-up ranged from one to three years. Two patients remained well, but the patient who presented with an advanced tumor with serosal invasion and nodal involvement had hepatic recurrence and died two years after the diagnosis of recurrence.