Glomus tumor of the stomach. Histologic and ultrastructural features.

A glomus tumor of the stomach was found in a 79-year-old white man who had episodes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Clinically, this uncommon gastric tumor mimics most of the benign and malignant lesions of the stomach. The most important aspect of this tumor, therefore, is its histologic identification and differentiation from the more common gastric lesions, most especially malignant tumors. This is of paramount importance because the glomus tumor is essentially benign and does not warrant a radical surgical procedure. The histologic and ultrastructural features of this particular gastric neoplasm are presented and discussed.