The use of DNA fingerprinting to clarify uncertainties about an endoscopic biopsy specimen that unexpectedly revealed gastric cancer

A concern was raised that an endoscopic biopsy specimen submitted to the Pathology Department was mishandled. A gastric biopsy specimen taken from a normal-appearing antrum of a 32-year-old woman, which was sampled to look for Helicobacter pylori, was read as signet ring cell gastric carcinoma. Subsequent antral biopsies from the hospital at which the original specimen had been taken and at referral centers showed no evidence of cancer. The Pathology Department that had made the original diagnosis did not believe that the specimen belonged to another patient. This case demonstrates the utility of DNA fingerprinting in a clinical situation that may be encountered by physicians and surgeons.