Clinical presentation and treatment of gastric metastasis from other malignancies of solid organs

The aim of the present study was to analyze the clinicopathologic features and treatment outcomes of gastric metastasis from other malignancies of solid organs. A review was conducted of patients with metastatic tumors in the stomach from other malignancies of solid organs detected endoscopically at the Department of Surgery, Kochi Medical School, from January 1991 to December 2015. Seven patients (four men and three women), with a median age of 64 years (range, 42-71 years), had metastatic gastric tumors. Median tumor size was 7.3 cm (range, 2.5-12.0 cm). The primary malignancy leading to metastatic tumors in the stomach was esophageal cancer in three patients, breast cancer in two patients, renal cell carcinoma in one patient, and ovarian cancer in one patient. Gastric metastasis presented as solitary lesions in six patients and as multiple lesions in one patient. Four patients had solitary gastric metastasis, whereas three had multiple metastases in other organs. The median tumor size was significantly smaller in patients with solitary rather than multiple metastases (4.6 vs. 12.0 cm, respectively; P=0.038). Three patients received systemic therapy and four underwent surgical resection of the metastatic tumor, and of these, only one was alive 58 months after surgery. Clinicians should be aware of the possible existence of metastatic gastric cancer, especially in breast carcinoma and esophageal cancer. Surgical resection may considerably improve patients' quality of life, and could be of benefit when there is a risk of bleeding and/or a solitary metastasis.