Metastatic tumors to the stomach: clinical and endoscopic features.
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.
De Palma
Giovanni D
GD
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
Masone
Stefania
S
Rega
Maria
M
Simeoli
Immacolata
I
Donisi
Mario
M
Addeo
Pietro
P
Iannone
Loredana
L
Pilone
Vincenzo
V
Persico
Giovanni
G
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