gastric endocrine cells

Endocrine cells of the gastric oxyntic mucosa, and especially the enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells, are the progenitors of gastrin-promoted proliferative lesions whose tumorigenic potential largely depends on the background condition in which they arise.

Pathology

The endocrine cell lesions have been classified as:

 pseudohyperplasia (cell clustering unassociated with cell proliferation)
 hyperplasia (diffuse, linear, micronodular, adenomatoid)
  dysplasia (enlarged, adenomatous or fused micronodules, microinfiltration, nodular growth),
  neoplasia (intramucosal or invasive carcinoids).

The entire spectrum of endocrine cell proliferation, from hyperplasia to dysplasia and neoplasia, has been observed in MEN-ZES and diffuse type A CAG.

Both hyperplastic and pseudohyperplastic changes occur with some frequency in the H. pylori-related chronic gastritis associated with ulcer disease or dyspepsia. However, because no progression to dysplastic or neoplastic lesions has thus far been documented in these latter conditions, their role in gastric endocrine cell tumorigenesis appears negligible.

Reference

 Hyperplastic, dysplastic, and neoplastic enterochromaffin-like-cell proliferations of the gastric mucosa. Classification and histogenesis. Solcia E, Fiocca R, Villani L, Luinetti O, Capella C. Am J Surg Pathol. 1995;19 Suppl 1:S1-7. Review. PMID: 7762735