An elderly black man was admitted to our institution with macrocytic anemia, dysphagia, and significant weight loss. Results of an esophagogram were suggestive of achalasia. Gastric adenocarcinoma infiltrating the gastric cardia was seen on gastroscopy. The mode of presentation of gastric cancer in this case has not been previously reported in association with pernicious anemia. Patients with pernicious anemia are at higher risk of having gastrointestinal neoplasms than is the general population. We review the current literature and address the controversy concerning the need to subject patients with pernicious anemia to surveillance with upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.
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El-Newihi et al. (1996) studied this question.