Abstract
33 cases of cancer of the gastric stump after gastrectomy for peptic ulcer observed between 1963 and 1972 are reviewed. In 26 patients the average interval between operation and carcinoma detection was over 20 years. No cases of carcinoma occurred in less than 10 years. All patients came too late for surgery, since they had attributed their symptoms to the previous operation. The gradual increase in the gastric-cancer risk of operated patients with time suggests a continuous carcinogenic influence. Regurgitation of duodenal contents through the Billroth II anastomosis seems to be the most important cause of postoperative atrophic gastritis, which is now considered by many authors to be a condition predisposing to gastric cancer. Gastric resection patients should be regarded as a high gastric-cancer risk group. The periodic use of modern procedures for early gastric cancer detection in this group of patients is therefore justified.
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