Abstract
Since the first report that argentaffin cells appeared in intestinal metaplasia of the stomach was made by Hamperl, several related studies have been performed. However many problems still remain in regard to the distribution and count of the silver positive cells in the stomach.
In this paper, the distribution of the silver positive cells in the proliferative lesion and intestinal metaplasia of the stomach with hyperplastic polyp, metaplastic polyp, atypical epithelium and cancer was investigated.
The order of the count of silver positive cells is as follows : in intestinal metaplasia and metaplastic polyp, in hyperplastic polyp and atypical epithelium and in gastric cancer.
The silver positive cell counts in early cancer and in advanced cancer were compared showing little differences. Early cancer was divided into two types, protruded type and depressed type and advanced cancer was divided into localized type and infiltrated type.
The cell counts were moderately more in depressed type and in infiltrated type than in other types. In gastric cancer, the cells were found in undifferentiated adenocarcinoma more frequently than in differentiated one.
The cells have been considered as argyrophil cells and argentaffin cells. Argentaffin cells were found in the regions of intestinal metaplasia and metaplastic polyp, while both cells were seen in other proliferative lesions.
The distribution and count of the silver positive cells were very similar in the regions with hyperplastic polyp and with atypical epithelium.
In the author's study on the distribution and count of the silver positive cells of the stomach, atypical epitelium might be not considered as a malignant sign.
