Gastric xanthelasma: case report

ABSTRACT

Xanthelasma, also known as Xanthoma or lipid island, is an uncommon gastrointestinal tract (GIT) tumor-like lesion and the stomach is its most frequent location in upper GI lesions, specifically in the gastric antrum, as a single lesion. The pathogenesis appears to be related to healing processes in response to tissue damage provoked by inflammation induced by Helicobacter pylori infection. Many studies have reported that successful H. pylori eradication helps prevent gastric cancer (GC) development. We present a case of a 77 years old patient that showed endoscopic diagnosis of erythematous gastropathy, a gastric antrum xanthelasma and H. Pylori infection. After confirmed H. pylori eradication, the lesion had complete regression. The successful eradication of H. pylori probably led to a total regression of the lesion. Gastric xanthelasma (GX) has been shown to be an independent predictive marker for early GC detection after H. pylori eradication. GX could be a useful marker for predicting the development of gastric cancer.