TY - JOUR
T1 - Oral ulcer as an exclusive sign of gastric cancer
T2 - Report of a rare case
AU - Colombo, Piergiuseppe
AU - Tondulli, Luca
AU - Masci, Giovanna
AU - Muzza, Andrea
AU - Rimasa, Lorenza
AU - Petrella, Duccio
AU - Santoro, Armando
PY - 2005/9/19
Y1 - 2005/9/19
N2 - Background: The oral cavity is a rare but occasional target for metastases, which may masquerade as various benign and inflammatory lesions, and sometimes also be asymptomatic. Oral metastatic lesions have been described in various cancers, particularly lung, breast and kidney carcinoma. Case presentation: We here describe an uncommon case of a hard palate mucosa and gingival metastasis from gastric carcinoma that was originally diagnosed as a periodontal disease. Histopathological examination of a biopsy of the lesion revealed a signet-ring cell carcinoma, and a subsequent biopsy of an ulcerated stomach lesion showed a poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma. The patient underwent gastric resection but died of heart failure on the tenth postoperative day; a post-mortem examination revealed a residual bilateral ovarian infiltration by gastric carcinoma (Krukenberg's tumor). Conclusion: An occult carcinoma of the stomach may rarely metastasise to the oral cavity even as a first and exclusive manifestation; it is important to bear this possibility in mind because such conditions may mimic a benign disease.
AB - Background: The oral cavity is a rare but occasional target for metastases, which may masquerade as various benign and inflammatory lesions, and sometimes also be asymptomatic. Oral metastatic lesions have been described in various cancers, particularly lung, breast and kidney carcinoma. Case presentation: We here describe an uncommon case of a hard palate mucosa and gingival metastasis from gastric carcinoma that was originally diagnosed as a periodontal disease. Histopathological examination of a biopsy of the lesion revealed a signet-ring cell carcinoma, and a subsequent biopsy of an ulcerated stomach lesion showed a poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma. The patient underwent gastric resection but died of heart failure on the tenth postoperative day; a post-mortem examination revealed a residual bilateral ovarian infiltration by gastric carcinoma (Krukenberg's tumor). Conclusion: An occult carcinoma of the stomach may rarely metastasise to the oral cavity even as a first and exclusive manifestation; it is important to bear this possibility in mind because such conditions may mimic a benign disease.
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U2 - 10.1186/1471-2407-5-117
DO - 10.1186/1471-2407-5-117
M3 - Article
C2 - 16171522
AN - SCOPUS:26844459077
VL - 5
JO - BMC Cancer
JF - BMC Cancer
SN - 1471-2407
M1 - 117
ER -