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Updated: Mar 16, 2026
Author Spotlight: Advancing Early Detection and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Tumors
Published on: February 16, 2024
[Two Cases of Gastric Endocrine Cell Carcinoma]
Masataka Tochimoto1, Toru Watanabe, Karin Sadamura
1Dept. of Surgery, Yokohama Sakae Kyosai Hospital.
Insights
This study reports two cases of rare gastric neuroendocrine carcinomas. Both patients underwent surgical resection, highlighting the importance of timely diagnosis and treatment for these uncommon stomach tumors.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Oncology
- Pathology
Background:
- Neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) are rare malignancies.
- Gastric NECs present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.
- Early detection is crucial for patient outcomes.
Observation:
- A case of a bleeding submucosal tumor in the stomach cardia, diagnosed as small cell endocrine carcinoma.
- A case of type 3 gastric cancer, diagnosed as poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma, presenting as gastric ulcers.
- Both patients were elderly with significant comorbidities or presenting symptoms.
Findings:
- Histopathological examination confirmed small cell endocrine carcinoma in the first patient and poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma in the second.
- Surgical intervention (partial and total gastrectomy) was performed for both patients.
- Hormone levels were within normal limits preoperatively in the second patient.
Implications:
- Surgical resection remains a primary treatment modality for gastric neuroendocrine carcinomas.
- Adjuvant chemotherapy (S-1) was administered to one patient post-discharge.
- Further research is needed to elucidate optimal management strategies for gastric NECs.
Abstract:
The first patient was a man in his eighties who visited our department because of anemia. Gastrofiberscopy revealed a bleeding submucosal tumor, approximately 50mm in diameter, in the cardia ofthe stomach. Considering that he underwent coronary-artery bypass surgery and received 3 oral antithrombotic medicines, his bleeding tendency was so high that we decided to choose partial gastrectomy. A postoperative histopathological examination revealed that the tumor was a small cell endocrine carcinoma. The second patient was a woman in her seventies. She had consulted her personal physician because of gastric ulcers; periodic gastrofiberscopy revealed a type 3 gastric cancer, approximately 40mm in diameter, on the posterior wall ofthe middle section ofher stomach. It was histologically diagnosed as a poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma. On a preoperative blood examination, the levels ofhormones such as glucagon, serotonin, and gastrin were within their respective normal limits. Total gastrectomy was performed, and she received oral S-1 for adjuvant chemotherapy since her discharge from the hospital.
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