A case of gastric small cell carcinoma mimicking gastric lymphoma / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Primary gastric small cell carcinoma (SmCC) is rarely encountered and has a poor prognosis, even when discovered at an early stage. A 69-year-old man presented with upper abdominal pain and melena. Endoscopic examination revealed an 8-cm-diameter submucosal tumor with ulceration high on the body of the greater curvature suggesting malignant lymphoma. Histological examination revealed a solid proliferation of small cells with hyperchromatic round nuclei and scant cytoplasm. On immunohistochemical staining, the neoplastic cells were positive for synaptophysin, EMA, and CD56. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple variable-sized low-attenuated masses with peripheral rim enhancement in both hepatic lobes. He was diagnosed with a pure type gastric SmCC with multiple hepatic metastasis. After systemic chemotherapy, the tumor regressed substantially on CT and endoscopy. We report a case of hepatic metastasis of gastric SmCC mimicking gastric lymphoma.