Brain metastasis as the first symptom of gastric cancer – case report and literature review

The study presented a patient with asymptomatic gastric cancer, in whom the first symptom was metastasis to the brain. The patient was initially diagnosed by a neurologist and subject to surgical intervention in the area of residence, where he underwent craniotomy with the excision of the metastatic lesions located in the occipital lobe. The histopathological examination revealed the presence of adenocarcinoma metastases. Following complex diagnostics the patient was diagnosed with cardial carcinoma, being subject to cerebral radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The patient was then referred to surgery at the Wielkopolska Cancer Center in Poznań. After final exclusion of disease dissemination (by means of PET-CT) the patient underwent total gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy, and gastrointestinal tract reconstruction by means of the Roux-en-Y method. The histopathological examination result was as follows: tubular-papillary G2 adenocarcinoma (intestinal type), pT2 pN0 (23 evaluated lymph nodes without cancer metastasis), vascular neoplastic emboli, and positive HER2 protein expression. After surgery the patient was subject to adjuvant chemotherapy. Control brain CT examinations revealed the presence of 4 recurrent metastatic lesions-the patient was disqualified from stereotactic radiation therapy and was subject to palliative chemotherapy. The discussion presented the problem of treating patients with stage IV gastric cancer, including current management guidelines, as well as literature review concerning the treatment of patients with diagnosed gastric cancer and brain metastases.