Long-term survival after resection of metachronous bilateral adrenal metastases of mucinous gastric carcinoma: report of a case

• Published in: Surgery today (Tokyo, Japan) Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 554 - 558
• Main Authors: Mokuno, Yasuji, Katayama, Makoto, Ogura, Yutaka, Kimura, Keiko, Koh, Katsuyoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan 01.06.2006
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous - pathology; Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous - secondary; Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous - surgery; Adrenal Gland Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Adrenal Gland Neoplasms - mortality; Adrenal Gland Neoplasms - secondary; Adrenal Gland Neoplasms - surgery; Adrenalectomy; Aged; Humans; Male; Neoplasms, Second Primary - pathology; Neoplasms, Second Primary - surgery; Stomach Neoplasms - pathology; Stomach Neoplasms - surgery; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• ISSN: 0941-1291; 1436-2813
• DOI: 10.1007/s00595-006-3180-2

We report a case of metachronous bilateral adrenal metastases from mucinous adenocarcinoma of the stomach. A 68-year-old man who had undergone surgery for advanced gastric cancer 5 months earlier had a follow-up computed tomography (CT) scan, which showed a right adrenal tumor. We performed a right adrenalectomy, and histopathological examination revealed a mucinous adenocarcinoma with features consistent with those of gastric cancer. A routine follow-up CT scan done 41 months after the right adrenalectomy showed a left adrenal mass. Chemotherapy had no apparent effect, and left adrenalectomy was performed 65 months after the right adrenalectomy. Histopathological examination also revealed a metastasis from gastric cancer. The patient was alive without recurrence 40 months after the left adrenalectomy. This case suggests that resection of adrenal metastasis from gastric cancer is an effective treatment option that may prolong survival in selected patients.