Pediatric gastric cancer presenting with massive ascites

World J Gastroenterol. 2015 Mar 21;21(11):3409-13. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i11.3409.

Abstract

Gastric adenocarcinoma is quite rare in children and as a result very little experience has been reported on with regards to clinical presentation, treatment and outcome. We describe the case of a 16-year-old boy presenting with abdominal fullness and poor appetite for 7 d. Sonography showed massive ascites and computed tomography imaging revealed the presence of gastric mucosa thickness with omentum caking. The diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma was biopsy-proven endoscopically. Despite gastric adenocarcinoma being quite rare in the pediatric patient population, we should not overlook the possibility of gastric adenocarcinoma when a child presents with distended abdomen and massive ascites.

Keywords: Ascites; Children; Gastric adenocarcinoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / complications*
  • Adenocarcinoma / diagnosis
  • Adenocarcinoma / drug therapy
  • Adolescent
  • Age Factors
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Ascites / diagnosis
  • Ascites / etiology*
  • Biopsy
  • Disease Progression
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Gastroscopy
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Stomach Neoplasms / complications*
  • Stomach Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Stomach Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Time Factors
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Treatment Outcome