A case of atypical gastric carcinoma with osteoclast like giant cells

Out of all the different types of neoplasms affecting the stomach, gastric carcinomas with Osteoclast-like Giant Cells (OGC) is one of the most uncommon. Although OGC are typically found in osseous neoplasms and tumors of the tendon sheath, few cases of extra-skeletal neoplasms with OGC have been documented. These typically involve organs such as the pancreas, gall-bladder, kidney, and breast. Even though the role of OGC in histogenesis of such tumors still remains unclear, their presence in extra-osseous neoplasms may indicate a certain level of immune reaction of the host towards the neoplastic transformation of normal tissue. We report a case of a 70-year-old Caucasian female hospitalized for evaluation of epigastric pain. Further examinations including endoscopy and biopsy of the stomach revealed gastric adenocarcinoma with OGC. This report also provides a brief insight into the possible immune reaction in such neoplasms.