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Review
. 2024 Aug 21;30(31):3717-3725.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i31.3717.

Gastric metastasis of small cell lung carcinoma: Three case reports and review of literature

Shan Yang  1 , Qing-Yun He  1   2 , Qing-Jing Zhao  1 , Han-Tao Yang  1 , Zheng-Yi Yang  3 , Wen-Yi Che  4 , Hua-Mei Li  4 , Hui-Chao Wu  5
Affiliations
Review

Gastric metastasis of small cell lung carcinoma: Three case reports and review of literature

Shan Yang et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is highly susceptible to metastasis in the early stages of the disease. However, the stomach is an uncommon site of metastasis in SCLC, and only a few cases of this type of metastasis have been reported. Therefore, SCLC gastric metastases have not been systematically characterized and are easily missed and misdiagnosed.

Case summary: We report three cases of gastric metastasis from SCLC in this article. The first patient presented primarily with cough, hemoptysis, and epigastric fullness. The other two patients presented primarily with abdominal discomfort, epigastric distension, and pain. All patients underwent gastroscopy and imaging examinations. Meanwhile, the immunohistochemical results of the lesions in three patients were suggestive of small cell carcinoma. Finally, the three patients were diagnosed with gastric metastasis of SCLC through a comprehensive analysis. The three patients did not receive appropriate treatment and died within a short time.

Conclusion: Here, we focused on summarizing the characteristics of gastric metastasis of SCLC to enhance clinicians' understanding of this disease.

Keywords: Case report; Diagnosis; Gastric neoplasms; Neoplasm metastasis; Small cell lung cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chest computed tomography image. A: A mass of approximately 5.0 cm × 4.0 cm in the left hilar region of the lung (case 1); B: A mass of approximately 7 cm × 3 cm in the left lower lobe of the lung (case 2).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Gastroscopy and endoscopic ultrasound findings. A and B: Gastroscopy suggested submucosal lesions with two central depressions and ulcer formation in the body and fundus of the stomach, respectively; C: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) suggested submucosal hypoechoic lesion of the gastric body; D: EUS suggested hypoechoic lesions of the portal vein (A-D; case 1); E: Gastroscopy suggested a submucosal lesion with ulcer formation was seen in the greater curvature of the stomach; F: EUS showed a submucosal hypoechoic lesion in the greater curvature of the stomach (E and F; case 2); G: A 4 mm × 5 mm mucosal lesion with a depressed tip (G; case 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Immunohistochemical examination of the lesion of case 1. A: Positive expression of CD56; B: Positive expression of thyroid transcription factor; C: Positive expression of chromogranin A; D: Positive expression of synaptophysin; E: Immunohistochemical staining displaying Ki-67 (70%); A-D: Magnification, × 200.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Immunohistochemical examination of the lesion of case 2. A: Positive expression of CD56; B: Positive expression of chromogranin A; C: Positive expression of synaptophysin; D: Immunohistochemical staining displaying Ki-67 (70%); E: Positive expression of thyroid transcription factor; A-D: Magnification, × 200.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Immunohistochemical examination of the lesion of case 3. A: Positive expression of CD56; B: Positive expression of chromogranin A; C: Positive expression of thyroid transcription factor; D: Immunohistochemical staining displaying Ki-67 (80%) (magnification, × 200).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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