Gastric carcinoid in a patient infected with Helicobacter pylori： A new entity

There are four types of gastric carcinoid tumors, classified according to their histology and malignant potential. Only a few cases of carcinoid tumors in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori （H. pylor/） have been reported so far. We report a patient infected with H. pylori presenting with a small solitary gastric carcinoid tumor with very low proliferative rate and normal gas- trin levels. The tumor was endoscopically removed and the patient received an eradication therapy against H. pylori. No signs of metastatic disease have been found so far during more than 3 year of follow-up. Infection with H. pylori may cause chronic gastritis with normal or elevated gastrin levels, leading to the develop- ment of gastric carcinoids by mechanisms unrelated to gastrin. Enterochromaffin-like cell tumors related to a chronic H. pylori infection may be considered as a distinct type of gastric carcinoid tumors.