Human chorionic gonadotropin in normal, inflammatory, and carcinomatous gastric tissue.

Tissues from 12 patients with gastric ulcers, 50 patients with gastric carcinoma, and 2 normal subjects who died suddenly were examined immunohistochemically with antiserum against the beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin. Human chorionic gonadotropin-beta-immunoreactive cells were present in the neck portion of the pyloric and pseudopyloric glands of normal and inflammatory gastric tissue. Gastric cancers located in the antrum-pylorus and the cardia were frequently associated with human chorionic gonadotropin immunoreactivity. These findings indicate that human chorionic gonadotropin-producing cells normally exist in the gastric mucosa, especially in the pylorus. It is speculated that normal human chorionic gonadotropin-producing cells may give rise to cancer in certain cases.