An intestinal counterpart of pyogenic granuloma of the skin. A newly proposed entity.

Pyogenic granuloma is a common disease in the skin, but it is extremely rare in the gastrointestinal tract except for the oral cavity. We have seen three lesions (from three patients) of an intestinal counterpart of pyogenic granuloma and have reviewed their clinicopathologic features. Macroscopically, all three lesions revealed a polypoid growth with either a sessile or pedunculated configuration. All had an ulceration on the top. Microscopically, all these lesions were composed of a lobular proliferation of varying sizes of capillaries with an edematous stroma. Endothelial cells of the capillaries were swollen variously and in one case revealed a few mitotic figures. An inflammatory process was associated with the presence of ulcerations. Immunohistochemically, both Factor VIII-related antigen and QB-end/10(CD34) were positive only for the endothelial cells in all three cases. The characteristic macroscopic and histologic features thus allow for an early diagnosis of pyogenic granuloma in the gastrointestinal tract, which is similar to that observed in the skin.