Gastric Carcinoid Tumor Associated with Autoimmune Atrophic Gastritis: Report of a Case

Gastric carcinoid (GC) tumor is a rare neuroendocrine tumor, which derives from gastric enterochromaffin-like (ECL) mucosal cells. It is usually found incidentally by routine endoscopy. We present a 58-year-old female with past history of Graves' disease and atrophic gastritis who underwent upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy due to epigastralgia for one week. After removal of multiple polyps in gastric body, GC tumor was diagnosed histologically with specific immunohistochemical staining. In addition, type 1 GC classification was confirmed by elevated serum gastrin level to 1433 pg/mL and presence of anti-parietal cell antibody. Although the clinical course of type 1 GC is indolent and the prognosis is good, the mortality rate seems innegligible. Therefore routine follow-up may be necessary to monitor the size progression.