USEFULLNESS OF ENDOSCOPIC SUBMUCOSAL DISSECTION FOR GASTRIC SUBMUCOSAL TUMOR-LIKE LESIONS : A CASE OF SARCOIDOSIS

Abstract

A 68-year old male presented with epigastralgia and was found to have multiple gastric submucosal lesions. Since the forceps biopsy did not show diagnostic findings, we performed endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) of one of the lesions to obtain a total biopsy specimen. The pathological findings, in combination with the clinical findings, enabled us to make a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis, a systemic disease of unknown cause, is characterized by non-caseating granulomas, rarely involving the gastrointestinal tract. Though ESD for sarcoidotic lesions has not been reported until now, it makes pathological assessment possible in a suspicious case of sarcoidosis associated with gastrointestinal submucosal lesions.