Diverse clinical and pathologic features of gastric carcinoid and the relevance of hypergastrinemia.

The etiology, prognosis, and optimal management of primary gastric carcinoids remain controversial. Records of 36 consecutive patients with gastric carcinoid (15 men) were reviewed retrospectively between 1975 and 1990. Follow-up was complete in 97% of cases. Mean age at diagnosis was 58.4 years (range 24-82 years). The clinical presentations included anemia (72%), pain (69%), and carcinoid syndrome (11%). Associated autoimmune and endocrine abnormalities were common and included atrophic gastritis (67%), pernicious anemia (58%), hypothyroidism (39%), diabetes (19%), Addison's disease (6%), and hyperparathyroidism (6%). Lesions were nonantral in 78%, involving only the corpus in 42%, the fundus in 28%, and only the antrum in 8%; 42% were multiple. Urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and serum gastrin levels were elevated in 17% and 50% of those tested, respectively. Histologic examination revealed that 28% of lesions were > or = 2 cm, and 33% had liver metastases on presentation or developed them during follow-up. Eight patients (22%) died of tumor with a median survival of 39 months. The presence of metastases, atypical histology, serosal involvement, and size > 2 cm were adverse prognostic factors. In patients without hypergastrinemia (n = 6), 66% developed metastases, 60% had elevated 5-HIAA, and 50% died of carcinoid tumor. In sharp contrast, those patients with hypergastrinemia and "typical" gastric carcinoids (n = 15), metastases and death did not occur (p < 0.003 and p < 0.005, respectively, compared with eugastrinemic patients).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)