Gastric adenocarcinoma with chief cell differentiation

A case of adenocarcinoma with chief cell differentiation, a novel entity in the stomach, is presented. An 82-year-old woman who had undergone distal gastrectomy, was scheduled for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to clarify mechanical ileus. A protruding tumor 16 x 14 x 9 mm in size was found in the cardia of the remnant stomach. Histological examination indicated a well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma composed of basophilic columnar or cuboidal cells with occasional coarse eosinophilic granules. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed strong expression of pepsinogens I and II and Runt-related transcription factor gene 3 (RUNX3), characteristic for chief cells, and MUC6 typical for mucous neck cells. However, the tumor cells were negative for the proton pump alpha subunit, a marker for parietal cells. Cdx2 and defensin-5 were not present, confirming the lack of an intestinal phenotype. The cancer cells shared characteristics of a chief cell and a mucous neck cell, resembling an ancestor of these two cell types, so-called 'primitive chief cell' in fundic gland. In line with these data, the cancer was diagnosed as an adenocarcinoma with chief cell differentiation.