Colon
Other nonneoplastic
Gastric heterotopia
Author: Raul S. Gonzalez, M.D.
Last author update: 24 February 2021
Last staff update: 5 March 2021
Copyright: 2003-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Gastric heterotopia colon
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Essential features | Epidemiology | Sites | Clinical features | Case reports | Treatment | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Sample pathology report | Board review style question #1 | Board review style answer #1Cite this page: Gonzalez RS. Gastric heterotopia. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/colongastricheterotopia.html. Accessed April 25th, 2024.
Definition / general
- Gastric tissue aberrantly present in colon
- See also heterotopia topic
Essential features
- Rare finding that usually consists of oxyntic type gastric tissue
- Helicobacter pylori organisms may be present
Epidemiology
- < 50 cases reported
Sites
- Usually in rectum; can be multifocal (Gut 1988;29:848)
Clinical features
- Mean age 18 years but wide range
- Slight male predominance
- Associated with other heterotopias, with vertebral and digital anomalies
- In rectum, usually presents with rectal bleeding and tenesmus (J Clin Gastroenterol 1994;19:41)
- At colonoscopy, may appear as polyp, ulcer or diverticulum
Case reports
- 34 year old man and 36 year old woman with polypoid lesions in rectum (Arch Pathol Lab Med 1999;123:222)
- 70 year old woman with heterotopia giving rise to adenocarcinoma (Korean J Pathol 2013;47:289)
- Associated with tubulovillous adenoma (N J Med 1995;92:512)
Treatment
- Excision, H2 blockers
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Gastric tissue (typically oxyntic type but may be pyloric type) in colon
- Helicobacter pylori organisms may be present
Microscopic (histologic) images
Contributed by Raul S. Gonzalez, M.D.
Gastric heterotopia
Images hosted on other servers:
Gastric and colonic mucosa
Gastric and colonic mucosa
Heterotopic gastric mucosa with cystic dilatation
Sample pathology report
- Rectum, mass, biopsy:
- Gastric heterotopia (see comment)
- Comment: Helicobacter organisms are not identified by immunohistochemistry.
Board review style question #1
Which of the following is true about gastric heterotopia in the colorectum?
- It can harbor Helicobacter pylori
- It is commonly observed endoscopically but rarely biopsied
- It is usually pyloric type rather than oxyntic type
- It often progresses to malignancy
Board review style answer #1
