On the question of primary gastric sarcoma

In contrast to cancerous neoplasms of the stomach, which are quite common and have a well-developed literature, gastric sarcomas (primary) are very rare. The question of primary gastric sarcomas still does not come out of the period of accumulation of material, there are relatively few descriptions of individual cases, summing up works (Krichevsky, Flebbe, Va imane, Konietzny, Orator, etc.). Due to the same rarity and the lack of precise reference points for the diagnosis, gastric sarcomas are, for the most part, an unexpected find at an operation or, more often, at an autopsy. The classic cases of Westphalen, Fleiner and Laibe, who gave a preliminary diagnosis, the first on the basis of tumor pieces in gastric lavage water, the second on the basis of sarcomatous nodes in the skin, are isolated; the difficulty of lifetime recognition of gastric sarcomas is explained by the variety of anatomical forms that have different course and not rarely barely noticeably upset the patient's health.