Published online Mar 28, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i12.2251
Peer-review started: November 26, 2016
First decision: January 10, 2017
Revised: January 24, 2017
Accepted: March 2, 2017
Article in press: March 2, 2017
Published online: March 28, 2017
Breast cancer with stomach metastasis rare with an incidence of 1% or less among metastatic breast cancer patients. We experienced a case of breast cancer metastasizing to the stomach in 65-year-old female patient. She experienced dyspepsia and poor oral intake before visiting the clinic. Diffuse infiltration with nodular mucosal thickening of the stomach wall was observed, suggesting advanced gastric cancer based on gross endoscopic finding. Spread of poorly cohesive tumor cells in the gastric mucosa observed upon hematoxylin and eosin stain resembled signet ring cell carcinoma, but diffuse positive staining for GATA3 in immunohistochemical stain allowed for a conclusive diagnosis of breast cancer metastasizing to the stomach. Based on the final diagnosis, systemic chemotherapy was administered instead of primary surgical resection. After 2 cycles of docetaxel administration, she showed a partial response based on abdominal computed tomography scan. This case is an unusual presentation of breast cancer metastasizing to the gastrointestinal tract.
Core tip: This case report describes a patient who was clinically diagnosed as advanced gastric cancer, but final pathological confirm diagnosis was to be breast cancer with gastric metastasis. Patient received systemic chemotherapy and is currently on partial response state at present.