Abstract
Background
Infiltrative malignancies to the stomach are unusual and are difficult to detect. Linitis Plastic is a syndrome caused by submucosal invasion of the gastric wall. It represents Bormann type III or IV of gastric adenocarcinoma. Uncommonly, the latter can be a manifestation of lobular breast cancer.
Aims
To present a case report of lobular breast cancer that manifested primarily as Linitis Plastica (LP). We review the literature of LP as a clinical syndrome and the diagnostic challenges associated with this condition. We aim to increase the awareness of LP as a non-gastric tumor and its endoscopic features.
Methods
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Results
A seventy-two-year-old female patient, previously healthy, presented with general deconditioning and distended abdomen. Basic laboratory testing such as complete blood count, electrolytes and kidney function were normal. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis revealed moderately sized peritoneal carcinomatosis deposits on the abdominal wall. Her family history was non-contributary for any gastrointestinal or gynecological malignancies. On review of system, the patient noted a history of successful eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection remotely. Additionally, no preceding age-appropriate malignancy screening tests were reported. A gastroscopy was done looking for a primary gastrointestinal tumor exhibited abnormally stiff gastric wall, erythematous thickened mucosal folds, and non-distensible stomach. No clear lesions, submucosal masses or ulcers were visualized. The duodenal mucosa was noted to be normal. Twelve deep random biopsies were retrieved from the mucosal body and fundus. Following immunohistochemistry, the histological diagnosis revealed lobular adenocarcinoma of the breast.
Conclusions
Linitis Plastica (leather bottle stomach) or Brinton disease is a rare entity of diffuse gastric mucosa infiltrating tumor. LP depicts 3–10% of primary gastric carcinoma, whilst less than 10% are secondary breast cancer. Endoscopically, breast cancer-related LP can be divided into two morphologies: nodular pattern with ulceration, which is the typical presentation of ductal breast carcinoma and diffuse mural pattern in lobular breast carcinoma. LP is a unique condition with challenging diagnostic features. Many biopsies can result in negative histopathological diagnoses. This can be explained partially by 1. The scirrhous and fibrous stroma that forms LP tumors. 2. The deep location in the submucosa and muscular layer of the gastric wall. 3. Inability to identify this entity endoscopically. In one case report, Endoscopic Ultrasound-Fine Needle Aspirate (EUS-FNA) was incorporated after negative obtained biopsies. There are no standardized diagnostic approaches for LP. Further studies inquiring rates of missed malignant diagnoses and optimum diagnostic assessments in the setting of LP are needed.
Funding Agencies
None
A Rare Metastatic Site of Invasive Lobular Breast Carcinoma: A Case Report