Adenocarcinoma with gastric mucin phenotype

Abstract

In this section, we overviewed the present condition of the studies on adenocarcinomas of the stomach with gastric mucin phenotype. Accumulating clinical as well as pathological findings suggest that both tubular and papillary differentiated-type adenocarcinomas with gastric mucin phenotype show distinct clinicopathological behavior in contrast to those with intestinal phenotype and should be considered as a distinct pathological entity. Although differentiated-type adenocarcinomas in hyperplastic polyp also frequently show the gastric mucin phenotype, they should be separated from those that arose de novo from the point of view of biological behavior. Several investigators have tried to elucidate the genetic and epigenetic background of these carcinomas. However, the precise molecular pathway(s) of the carcinogenesis of adenocarcinomas with gastric mucin phenotype remains to be further clarified. To make this type of gastric adenocarcinoma an internationally recognized clinicopathological entity, efforts should be spared to build a consensus criteria for the evaluation of each epithelial marker and phenotypical subclassification of adenocarcinomas of the stomach. © 2005 Springer-Verlag Tokyo.