ANGIOCENTRIC IMMUNOPROLIFERATIVE LESION OF THE STOMACH

We report here a rare case of angiocentric immunoproliferative lesion (AIL) of the stomach. The patient was a 61-year-old Japanese female whose medical history was unremarkable. Following a complaint of abdominal discomfort, a submucosal tumour of the stomach was found and gastrectomy was done. Histological examination of the tumour revealed multiple angiocentric or angiodestructive lesions with numerous lymphocytic infiltrates. These vascular lesions were histologically the same as those in benign lymphocytic vasculitis with granulomatosis (BLV) of the respiratory tract. AIL is a distinct entity, including BLV, lymphomatoid granulomatosis and angiocentric lymphoma with BLV representing a good prognosis group of AIL. A survey of the literature suggests that AIL is a spectrum of T-lymphocyte proliferative disorders. To our knowledge, this is the first case of AIL involving the stomach primarily.