Gastric Mucosal Polyps in Pernicious Anaemia

Abstract

In a 4-year follow-up study of 68 patients with pernicious anaemia gastric polyps were observed in 25 patients. In some patients the polyps seemed to vanish completely from one year to another, while they might ascend or increase in other patients. None of these polyps underwent malignant transformation during the period of observation, and by histological examination they could be classified as non-neoplastic ‘regenerative’ benign polyps in an atrophic gastric mucosa. In our opinion the surgical attitude to these non-neoplastic gastric polyps in pernicious anaemia should be restrictive.

Key-words:

• Atrophic gastritis
• gastric polyps
• pernicious anaemia