Morphological characteristics of background pathological processes in the mucous membrane adjacent to the tumor in gastric cancer of the intestinal type

Introduction. Many fundamental and practical problems associated with pre-tumor changes in the stomach have not been sufficiently studied, which indicates the relevance of their study both at the stages of carcinoma development and in the mucous membrane adjacent to the tumor. The study aimed to detect the incidence, severity, and interconnections of background pathological processes in the gastric mucosa at different distances from the tumor node in gastric carcinomas of the intestinal type. Materials and methods. The surgical material of 43 patients with gastric carcinomas of the intestinal type after gastrectomy and resection of the stomach (626 tissue samples) from the tumor node and adjacent gastric mucosa at a distance from 1 cm to the resection lines was investigated. We assessed the frequency of occurrence, severity, and correlation relationships of the background pathological processes, i.e.,epithelial hyperplasia, intestinal metaplasia, and inflammatory and atrophic changes. Results. In the mucous membrane adjacent to the tumor, we revealed epithelial hyperplasia, intestinal metaplasia, and inflammatory and atrophic changes. There was a significant decrease in the number of cases of hyperplasia and intestinal metaplasia of the epithelium at the distance from the tumor. Moreover, we detected a decrease in the severity of all studied pathological processes. Positive moderate correlations were revealed between the parameters characterizing pathological processes at different distances from the tumor. Conclusion. The incidence and severity of background pathological processes, i.e., epithelial hyperplasia, intestinal metaplasia, and inflammatory and atrophic changes, detected in the mucous membrane in intestine type of gastric carcinoma decrease with distance from the tumor node. The results of the correlation analysis indicate the possibility of a functional relationship of such processes as epithelial hyperplasia, intestinal metaplasia and atrophy, as well as their important role in gastric carcinogenesis. The detection of these changes in the material obtained from the areas of the resection lines indicates the need for further study of their clinical significance. Keywords: gastric cancer, epithelial hyperplasia, intestinal metaplasia, inflammatory infiltration, atrophy