Properly speaking there are very few epithelial neoplasms of the stomach. Benign adenomas of gastric epithelium exist, and gastrinomas and gastric carcinoids are both well recognised, although whether these latter two qualify as epithelial tumours is a matter of how liberally the term is defined. The most important epithelial neoplasm is gastric carcinoma, and consequently the bulk of this chapter will be concerned with this subject. Although the focus of Western efforts against cancer has shifted to other areas, gastric carcinoma remains one of the largest causes of cancer mortality worldwide. Its poor prognosis globally is related to the difficulty of early diagnosis, the need for major surgery in an elderly, unfit population and the limited efficacy of nonsurgical treatments. Pathology