title: Metastatic tumors to the stomach: clinical and endoscopic features.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinical and endoscopic patterns in a large series of patients with metastatic tumors in the stomach.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 64 patients with gastric metastases from solid malignant tumors were retrospectively examined between 1990 and 2005. The clinicopathological findings were reviewed along with tumor characteristics such as endoscopic pattern, location, size and origin of the primary sites.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Common indications for endoscopy were anemia, bleeding and epigastric pain. Metastases presented as solitary (62.5%) or multiple (37.5%) tumors were mainly located in the middle or upper third of stomach. The main primary metastatic tumors were from breast and lung cancer and malignant melanoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As the prognosis of cancer patients has been improving gradually, gastrointestinal (GI) metastases will be encountered more often. Endoscopic examinations should be conducted carefully in patients with malignancies, and endoscopic biopsies and information on the patient's clinical history are useful for correct diagnosis of gastric metastases.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di ChirurgiaGenerale, Oncologica e Tecnologie Avanzate, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II-Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Via Pansini 5, Napoli 80131, Italy. giovanni.depalma@unina.it
authors.forename: Giovanni D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: De Palma
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masone
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rega
authors.forename: Immacolata
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Simeoli
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donisi
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Addeo
authors.forename: Loredana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iannone
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pilone
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Persico
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology; D001706:Biopsy; D016145:Endoscopy, Digestive System / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D013997:Time Factors