Hemorrhagic Gastric Metastasis from Hepatocellular Carcinoma Successfully Treated Using Coil Embolization of the Left Gastric Artery

Simultaneous gastric, pancreatic, and renal metastasis from poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma

Common extrahepatic metastasis sites of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are the lungs, adrenal glands, and bones. Herein, we report a rare case of metastatic gastric, pancreatic, and renal tumors from HCC simultaneously, and review the relevant literature. A 75-year-old woman presented with right hypochondralgia, appetite loss, and weight loss. Computed tomography revealed suspected metastatic liver, lung, and renal tumors. A blood test revealed a leukocyte count of 26,210/μL and a high inflammatory reaction. As sepsis was suspected, the patient was referred to our hospital. Gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging revealed a hypovascular liver tumor that was suspected to be metastatic. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed two suspected metastatic gastric tumors. Liver and gastric tumor biopsies revealed poor carcinoma in both. The patient's condition gradually worsened and she died on day 8 of the illness. Based on autopsy findings, the patient was finally diagnosed with metastatic gastric and renal tumors originating from HCC. Additionally, a metastatic pancreatic tumor originating from the HCC was identified during autopsy. The pathological diagnosis of the pulmonary lesion was primary lung adenocarcinoma. In conclusion, HCC should be suspected in cases with multiple metastases of unknown primary lesions.

Metastasis to the stomach: a systematic review

Background: This study reviews the literature on gastric metastases (GM) in terms of diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. The goal of this study was to provide clinicians with a reliable and beneficial source to understand gastric metastases arising from various primary tumors and to present the growing literature in an easily accessible form. Methods: Articles published in English language from implementation of MEDLINE and Cochrane databases until May 2022 were considered for the systematic review. Articles other than English language, letters to the editor, posters, and clinical images were excluded. Hematogenous and lymphogenic metastases were included whereas direct tumoral invasion and seeding were excluded. Articles and abstracts were analyzed and last selection was done after cross-referencing and by use of defined eligibility criteria. Results: In total 1,521 publications were identified and 170 articles were finally included totaling 186 patients with GM. The median age of patients was 62 years. Gynecologic cancer was the most common cancer type causing GM (67 patients), followed by lung cancer (33 patients), renal cancer (20 patients), and melanoma (19 patients). One of the main treatment methods performed for metastasis was resection surgery (n=62), sometimes combined with chemotherapy (ChT) or immunotherapy. ChT was the other most used treatment method (n=78). Also, immunotherapy was amongst the most preferred treatment options after surgery and ChT (n=10). Conclusions: As 172 case reports were screened in the systematic review from different journals, heterogeneity was inevitable. Some articles missed important information such as complete follow-up or clinical information. Moreover, since all of the included articles were case reports quality assessment could not be performed. Among 172 case reports reviewed, resection surgery was performed the most and was sometimes combined with ChT and immunotherapy. Further research about what type of treatment has the best outcomes for patients with gastric metastases is needed.

Clinicopathological features and differential diagnosis of gastric metastases

OBJECTIVE

Due to the rarity and non-specificity of symptoms, gastric metastases are often misdiagnosed, and patients are not treated promptly. The aim of this study was to study the clinicopathological features and differential diagnosis of gastric metastases.

METHODS

From 2004 to 2021, 14 patients were diagnosed with gastric metastases not resulting from direct invasion (GMNDI) in our hospital, and their imaging and clinicopathological features were analyzed.

RESULTS

PET-CT examination showed hypermetabolic nodules in the stomach. Under gastroscopy, GMNDI showed eminence, nodular or vegetable pattern mass, and ulcer. Microscopically, GMNDI showed similar pathological features and immunophenotypes to the primary tumor. In our study, the most common primary tumors were malignant melanoma (4 cases), small cell lung cancer (3 cases), and hepatocellular carcinoma (3 cases). Immunohistochemistry contributed to the pathological diagnosis and differential diagnosis of gastric metastases. Malignant melanoma expressed HMB45, MelanA, and S-100; small cell lung cancer expressed TTF-1, CD56, and CgA; hepatocellular carcinoma expressed GPC-3, hepatocyte, and Sall4. In a few cases, tumor cells may lose immune markers during metastasis. Therefore, it is necessary to combine medical history, imaging examination, and other clinical diagnosis methods in the pathological diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

An in-depth understanding of GMNDI is conducive to better diagnosis and treatment planning for gastric metastases and subsequent improvement in patient prognosis.

Synchronous isolated gastric metastases from ascending colon carcinoma: A case report

BACKGROUND

Gastric metastases (GMs) are rare and often accompanied with synchronous metastases of other organs. Synchronous isolated GMs from ascending colon carcinoma are uncommon and rarely studied. GMs may be confused with primary gastric tumors.

METHODS

A 45-year-old man presented to our hospital with abdominal distensionand anal pendant expansion. The abdominal physical examination was negative. The positive fecal occult blood test and the negative tumor marker were obtained. Colonoscopy and gastroduodenoscopy revealed a polypoidal lesion in the ascending colon and a polypoid mass in the gastric body, respectively. CT showed the thickened wall of ascending colon and polypoid mass in the gastric body with homogenous enhancement. Additionally, synchronous gastric metastases from the ascending colon carcinoma were confirmed by pathology after laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and partial gastrectomy. After 13 individual doses of fluorouracil (2.8 g/time), calcium leucovorin (0.8 g/time), and oxaliplatin (85 mg/time), the patient was discharged without any discomfort, without any additional metastases detected during the following 18 months.1.

RESULTS

A rare case of synchronous isolated gastric metastasis from ascending colon carcinoma was confirmed by computed tomography (CT) and pathological diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

GM may appear as a polypoid lesion. Surgery combined with chemotherapy may improve the prognosis in patients with synchronous isolated GM.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Gastrointestinal Involvement: A Systematic Review

In this paper, we aimed to evaluate clinical and imagistic features, and also to provide a diagnostic algorithm for patients presenting with gastrointestinal involvement from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We conducted a systematic search on the PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases to identify and collect papers oncases of HCC with gastrointestinal involvement. This search was last updated on 29 April 2022. One hundred and twenty-three articles were included, corresponding to 197 patients. The majority of the patients were male (87.30%), with a mean age of 61.21 years old. The analysis showed large HCCs located mainly in the right hepatic lobe, and highly elevated alfa-fetoprotein (mean = 15,366.18 ng/mL). The most frequent etiological factor was hepatitis B virus (38.57%). Portal vein thrombosis was present in 27.91% of cases. HCC was previously treated in most cases by transarterial chemoembolization (32.99%) and surgical resection (28.93%). Gastrointestinal lesions, developed mainly through direct invasion and hematogenous routes, were predominantly detected in the stomach and duodenum in equal measure—27.91%. Gastrointestinal bleeding was the most common presentation (49.74%). The main diagnostic tools were esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and computed tomography. The mean survival time was 7.30 months. Gastrointestinal involvement in HCC should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with underlying HCC and gastrointestinal manifestations or pathological findings in EGD.