Synchronous hepatocellular carcinoma or metastatic hepatic tumor with primary gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: When a solitary hepatic tumor occurs synchronously with gastric cancer, it is usually presumed to be metastatic. However, this may not be true in a place like Taiwan, where hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is prevalent. This study was conducted to examine the clinicopathological factors of both conditions.

METHODOLOGY

A retrospective analysis of 14 patients who underwent a synchronous hepatectomy in combination with radical gastrectomy over the past 15 years was performed.

RESULTS

Seven patients had metastatic gastric cancer, and seven had concomitant gastric and hepatic cancer. Serosal invasion and lymph node metastasis were the major features in the patients with metastatic gastric cancer. Early gastric cancer was found in three of the patients with the coexisting primary cancers. No patient with solitary metastatic cancer survived more than one year, but long-term survival of more than two years was achieved in two patients with the two forms of cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Double cancer of the stomach and liver should be kept in mind in patients with gastric cancer concomitant with a solitary hepatic tumor, in order to provide optimal treatment.