No abstract

Neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) of the stomach is an uncommon disease. Because of its rarity, the clinicopathological features are unclear, and there is no consensus on the optimal treatment strategy. This study included five consecutive patients with gastric NEC who underwent surgery from July 2001 to August 2011. Clinical presentation, tumor location, tumor morphology and size, pathology and immunohistochemistry results, and treatment outcome were analyzed retrospectively and discussed. The study cohort of four men and one woman ranged in age from 52 to 84 years, with a median age of 72 years. Positive rates of neuroendocrine markers were 40 % for chromogranin A, 60 % for synaptophysin, 60 % for CD56, 40 % for neuron-specific enolase, and 100 % for p53 protein. Median number of lymph node metastases per patient was 10, with severe lymphatic and venous infiltration, and high Ki-67 labeling index (60-90 %) reported for all patients. Median tumor size was 6 cm. Stage IV disease was diagnosed in three patients; the other two patients showed stage IIIA tumors. After a mean follow-up of 29.8 months, two of the five patients had died of the disease. Although rare, gastric NECs deserve particular attention because of their strong malignant potential associated with an extremely poor prognosis. Such carcinomas demand an aggressive surgical approach followed by chemotherapy and multimodality adjuvant therapy.

Background: This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of a novel imaging system (HyperEye Medical System [HEMS]; Mizuho Corp., Tokyo, Japan) that uses the near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence of indocyanine green to analyze sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies for the staging of breast cancer. Methods: This study enrolled 91 patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer that was clinically node negative with a tumor size <3 cm. We compared SLN identification rates between HEMS and conventional methods (gamma probe scanning using a colloidal radioisotope [RI] and a blue dye method) by analyzing the relationships of lymphatic to axillary lesions and SLNs. Results: The identification rate of SLNs was 100% using HEMS, 97.8% using the RI method, and 95.6% using the blue dye method. Two types of lymphatic pathway (LP) were detected in 39 patients (42.9%) and also clearly identified using HEMS-captured color and NIR fluorescence. The incidence of two or more SLNs was significantly higher in patients with a two-route LP to the axilla group than in those with only one route (p < 0.001; 43.6 vs. 9.6%). Conclusions: The HEMS NIR fluorescence color imaging method is a promising potential modality for higher-level identification of SLNs than a standard combination of the RI and blue dye methods.

The most common sites of breast cancer metastasis are the bone, liver, lung and brain, while gastrointestinal metastasis from breast cancer is rare. We herein present the case of a 68-year-old woman who was admitted to our department with nausea and appetite loss. The patient's medical history included right mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy 5 years earlier for invasive lobular carcinoma, measuring 6.2 cm in greatest diameter, without lymphovascular invasion. Two years after the surgery, the patient developed brain metastasis and underwent metastasectomy to control the neurological symptoms, including unsteadiness and asthenia. After the second surgery, the patient received systemic chemotherapy using S-1, followed by bevacizumab plus paclitaxel. However, due to bevacizumab-related cardiotoxicity, the treatment was switched to eribulin. On esophagogastroduodenoscopy, an elevated lesion was identified in the antrum, causing severe narrowing of the gastric outlet. Biopsy and histological examination of the tumor revealed infiltration of the gastric wall by undifferentiated neoplastic cells with poor adhesion, morphologically similar to invasive lobular carcinoma, and immunohistochemical staining was positive for estrogen receptor, mammaglobin and GATA3. Finally, 18 F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography imaging revealed FDG uptake across the thickness of the antral wall. The patient was diagnosed with gastric metastasis from the original breast cancer and subsequently underwent endoscopic self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) placement. There were no procedure-related adverse events, and the patient remained alive under best supportive care 4 months after SEMS placement. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of gastric outlet obstruction caused by metastatic breast carcinoma managed by SEMS placement. While such a diagnosis is rare, clinicians treating patients with gastric metastases should be aware of possible gastric outlet obstruction and SEMS placement as an effective palliative intervention.

Abstract. The aim of the present study was to analyze the clinicopathologic features and treatment outcomes of gastric metastasis from other malignancies of solid organs. A review was conducted of patients with metastatic tumors in the stomach from other malignancies of solid organs detected endoscopically at the Department of Surgery, Kochi Medical School, from January 1991 to December 2015. Seven patients (four men and three women), with a median age of 64 years (range, 42-71 years), had metastatic gastric tumors. Median tumor size was 7.3 cm (range, 2.5-12.0 cm). The primary malignancy leading to metastatic tumors in the stomach was esophageal cancer in three patients, breast cancer in two patients, renal cell carcinoma in one patient, and ovarian cancer in one patient. Gastric metastasis presented as solitary lesions in six patients and as multiple lesions in one patient. Four patients had solitary gastric metastasis, whereas three had multiple metastases in other organs. The median tumor size was significantly smaller in patients with solitary rather than multiple metastases (4.6 vs. 12.0 cm, respectively; P=0.038). Three patients received systemic therapy and four underwent surgical resection of the metastatic tumor, and of these, only one was alive 58 months after surgery. Clinicians should be aware of the possible existence of metastatic gastric cancer, especially in breast carcinoma and esophageal cancer. Surgical resection may considerably improve patients' quality of life, and could be of benefit when there is a risk of bleeding and/or a solitary metastasis.