Peptic ulceration with marked epithelial atypia following hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy. A lesion initially misinterpreted as carcinoma.

Peptic ulceration is a known complication of hepatic arterial chemotherapy for metastatic disease. We report a case of peptic ulceration associated with marked epithelial atypia initially interpreted as carcinoma, probably metastatic in nature. Subsequent partial gastric resection proved the lesion benign. Examination of other gastric biopsies from ulcerated and nonulcerated mucosa from similarly treated patients has revealed similar marked atypical changes. The etiology of the epithelial atypia and ulceration remains unanswered, but is probably related to locally enhanced chemotherapeutic cytotoxicity or ischemia. Care should be taken not to interpret the marked epithelial atypia as carcinoma in this clinical setting.