Ménétrier’s Disease: a Rare Entity Which Mimicks Gastric Cancer

Abstract

A 19-year-old male patient was admitted for a one month long history of nausea and postprandial vomiting, anorexia, weight loss (10kg), epigastric pain with radiation in the left upper quadrant. On physical examination, no significant findings were revealed, except for tenderness at palpation of the epigastric region. Laboratory investigations revealed a low serum iron level and hypoalbuminemia. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed hypertrophic irregular folds of the gastric body, without distension by insufflation and without erosions (Fig. 1). Given the ongoing suspicion of gastric neoplasia, especially lymphoma, a CT scan of the thorax and abdomen was performed, which found only a nonspecific thickening of the gastric wall (Fig. 2) but no thoracic or abdominal lymphadenopathies. The histopathology examination (Fig. 3) showed foveolar hyperplasia, elongated foveolar epithelium, cystically dilated foveolae, loss of oxyntic glands and mild interstitial inflammation, as well as foveolae containing PAS positive neutral mucin