An Immaculate Deception: Persistently Elevated Serum β-Hcg in Metastatic Signet Ring Cell Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Persistent elevations in beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) can be an ominous sign of both trophoblastic and non-trophoblastic malignancies. The absence of a clearly identified etiology of β-hCG elevation warrants pursuit of further diagnostic testing to determine the source of ectopic β-hCG.

A virginal 26-year-old woman with past medical history significant for persistently elevated β-hCG presented to our Emergency Department with shortness of breath, pleuritic chest pain, nausea, and vomiting, and was found to have widely metastatic gastric signet ring cell adenocarcinoma. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Although elevated serum β-hCG is a generally a marker of pregnancy, β-hCG elevation without clear etiology necessitates ruling out other insidious processes. Failure to maintain and pursue a broad differential in the context of unexplained elevations of β-hCG can result in catastrophic missed or delayed diagnosis.