Solitary cerebellum metastasis from gastric adenocarcinoma. A rare case report

The present study reports a case of signet-ring gastric adenocarcinoma with isolated cerebellum metastasis 2 years after gastrectomy.

Brain metastases originating from gastric cancer are rare accounting for 2.1-3.3% of all brain tumors registered in Japan. There are no established therapeutic strategies for brain metastases, which accordingly have a poor prognosis. We present here a 69 year old female patient who was diagnosed with solitary cerebellum metastasis 2 years after treatment for gastric adenocarcinoma. The primary gastric cancer was treated by laparotomy with distal gastrectomy and D2 lymphadenectomy. It was diagnosed as a signet ring gastric adenocarcinoma on histopathological examination of the surgical specimen. Two years postoperatively the patient reported back to our clinic complaining of vomiting, persistent headache and instability. MRI of the head showed an enhanced tumor in the left hemisphere of cerebellum and surrounding edematous changes on T1-enhanced imaging. Given the medical history brain metastasis was the first thought in differential diagnosis. Surgical resection was chosen as treatment.

Until recently there are only two large studies that refer to metastatic brain tumors from primary gastric cancer. Besides that, official treatment guidelines for these cases do not exist. Treatment options include surgical resection (SR), whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), steroids, chemotherapy or a combination.

A solitary cerebellum metastasis from primary gastric adenocarcinoma is a very rare presentation. Early detection of metastatic lesion and successful treatment is challenging.