Abstract
A histomorphological and histochemical investigation was carried out on 200 stomachs surgically removed for carcinoma, antropyloric ulcer, hypertrophic gastritis, simple gastritis associated with duodenal ulcer. Fragments of the mucous membrane on the lesion edges, at 4 cm distance, in the mediogastric region and near the fundus were examined. It could be ascertained that the entity and frequency of the metaplasic process depend on the extent of the gastric lesion, increasing gradually from the simple gastritis to the carcinoma. This finding suggests that, in all probability, the caliciform metaplasia of gastric epithelium is related to a greater cell impairment in the cancer lesion than in the other examined lesions. It can be therefore regarded as a change able to evolve towards a precancerous condition.
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