Gastric remnant carcinoma: reevaluation of screening endoscopy

A 67-year-old male presented with complaints of chronic postprandial pain in the epigastric region. The patient had undergone a vagotomy, antrectomy, and loop gastrojejunostomy for peptic ulcer disease 25 years prior. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed markedly thickened walls of the gastric remnant with infiltration of the adjacent fat planes. An esophagogastroscopy demonstrated erythematous, friable remnant mucosa. Gastric biopsies revealed invasive adenocarcinoma. At laparotomy a large tumor mass involving the gastric remnant and the antecolic loop gastrojejunostomy was identified. Further exploration revealed a firm nodule in the left lobe of the liver and several small nodules on the diaphragm and the lesser omentum. Biopsies confirmed metastatic adenocarcinoma at all sites. Curative resection was abandoned. Gastric remnant carcinoma (GRC) typically presents more than 20 years after resection for peptic ulcer disease and has a history of poor survival rates. With increased use of diagnostic endoscopy, GRC has been detected at earlier stages. Recent cohort studies demonstrate that GRC has similar survival rates after stage stratification when compared with primary proximal gastric carcinoma. The increased incidence of GRC in later decades (>20 years) after operation in conjunction with decreasing numbers of patients suggests that screening endoscopy should be considered on a 2- to 5-year basis in this population.