Hematogenous metastases to the stomach. A review of 67 cases

✍ Scribed by Linda K. Green

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 473 KB
• Volume: 65
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(19900401)65:7<1596::aid-cncr2820650724>3.0.co;2-5

✦ Synopsis

Metastatic tumors to the mucosa of the stomach are unusual occurrences that can cause clinical and pathologic problems in diagnosis. The authors report 67 cases from the files of the Veterans Administration Center at Houston. Ten cases were found on endoscopic biopsy and 57 at necropsy. Each patient endoscopically evaluated presented with upper gastrointestinal tract symptoms, including bleeding, abdominal pain, anorexia, and vomiting. At endoscopic examination, characteristic "volcano-like" ulcers were noted. Clinical gastrointestinal symptoms were present in 30 of the necropsy cases, and in four cases the gastric metastases led to the patients' deaths. Tumors primary in the lung accounted for most of the metastases (55%), followed by other gastrointestinal malignancies. A correct diagnosis is important to direct therapy and is facilitated by the characteristic clinical, endoscopic, and histologic findings. Cancer 65:1596-1600,1990.

LOOD-BORNE metastatic involvement of the gastric

B mucosa by tumor is a rare occurrence according to the number of reports in the literature. Usually, the tumors most commonly reported to metastasize to the stomach include melanoma, breast carcinoma, and lung carcinoma. With a correct diagnosis and proper treatment, relief of symptoms and prolongation of life can sometimes be achieved.

To determine the incidence of metastases to the stomach and the relationship between histologic type of neoplasm and the presence of stomach metastases, we recently reviewed endoscopic gastric biopsies and necropsies with malignancy over a 25-year period. Our results suggest that metastases to the stomach are uncommon but not as rare as previously reported and can be difficult to diagnose clinically.

Materials and Methods

Ten patients with neoplasms metastatic to the gastric mucosa were identified from a review of 260 gastric endoscopic biopsies with nonhematologic malignancies at