Case Report
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World J Gastroenterol. Jul 7, 2011; 17(25): 3066-3068
Published online Jul 7, 2011. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i25.3066
Gastric carcinoid in a patient infected with Helicobacter pylori: A new entity?
Pantelis Antonodimitrakis, Apostolos Tsolakis, Staffan Welin, Gordana Kozlovacki, Kjell Öberg, Dan Granberg
Pantelis Antonodimitrakis, Apostolos Tsolakis, Staffan Welin, Gordana Kozlovacki, Kjell Öberg, Dan Granberg, Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Endocrine Oncology, University Hospital of Uppsala, Uppsala 75900, Sweden
Author contributions: Antonodimitrakis P wrote the paper; Granberg D (senior author) reviewed the paper before submission; Tsolakis A contributed to this work with material (pictures); Öberg K contributed to this work by providing useful comments.
Correspondence to: Pantelis Antonodimitrakis, Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Endocrine Oncology, University Hospital of Uppsala, Uppsala 75900, Sweden. pantelis.antonodimitrakis@akademiska.se
Telephone: +46-18-6110000 Fax: +46-18-553943
Received: October 21, 2010
Revised: December 10, 2010
Accepted: December 17, 2010
Published online: July 7, 2011
Abstract

There are four types of gastric carcinoid tumors, classified according to their histology and malignant potential. Only a few cases of carcinoid tumors in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) have been reported so far. We report a patient infected with H. pylori presenting with a small solitary gastric carcinoid tumor with very low proliferative rate and normal gastrin levels. The tumor was endoscopically removed and the patient received an eradication therapy against H. pylori. No signs of metastatic disease have been found so far during more than 3 year of follow-up. Infection with H. pylori may cause chronic gastritis with normal or elevated gastrin levels, leading to the development of gastric carcinoids by mechanisms unrelated to gastrin. Enterochromaffin-like cell tumors related to a chronic H. pylori infection may be considered as a distinct type of gastric carcinoid tumors.

Keywords: Gastric carcinoids; Gastrin; Gastritis; Helicobacter pylori