July 3, 2023 – High prevalence of vitamin B-12 deficiency before and early after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer

Gastrectomy causes vitamin B-12 deficiency since vitamin B-12 requires gastric acid and intrinsic factor for its absorption. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is considered to develop years after gastrectomy because of large hepatic storage. However, most gastric cancer develops after long-standing atrophic gastritis with vitamin B-12 malabsorption. We have investigated vita-min B-12 status in 22 patients before gastrectomy and 53 patients after gastrectomy due to gastric cancer, also with consideration on post-gastrectomy anemia.