Gastric sarcoidosis in Japan.

Seventeen cases of gastric sarcoidosis have been reported in Japanese literature. Age distribution was from the 3rd decade (6 cases) to the 6th decade (3 cases) and the sex ratio was 2 females to 1 male. Preoperative diagnosis included 10 cases of gastric carcinoma and 6 cases of gastric ulcer. Sites of the granulomas were limited to the mucous membrane in 4 cases, from serosa to the mucous membrane in 9 cases and from the muscle layer to the mucous membrane in 1 case. As there are granulomas in the mucous membrane in all cases, it appears that granulomas may spread from the mucous membrane to outside and they can possibly be detected by biopsy. There were no BHL in any chest X-ray. Kveim test was positive in only 2 out of 11 cases. Prognosis is very good. There has been a question whether the gastric granuloma is a local or a generalized manifestation. From our findings, we will report in detail, it may not be a local reaction, but a gastric manifestation of generalized sarcoidosis.