Case Report
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2005; 11(44): 7048-7050
Published online Nov 28, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i44.7048
Gastric cancer occurring in a patient with Plummer-Vinson syndrome: A case report
Ki-Han Kim, Min-Chan Kim, Ghap-Joong Jung
Ki-Han Kim, Min-Chan Kim, Ghap-Joong Jung, Department of Surgery, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, South Korea
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Ghap-Joong Jung, Department of Surgery, Dong-A University College of Medicine, 3-1 Dongdaeshin-Dong, Seo-Gu, Busan 602-715, South Korea. gjjung@donga.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-51-2405147 Fax: +82-51-2479316
Received: May 1, 2005
Revised: June 6, 2005
Accepted: June 9, 2005
Published online: November 28, 2005
Abstract

Plummer-Vinson syndrome (sideropenic dysphagia) is characterized by dysphagia due to an upper esophageal or hypopharyngeal web in patients with chronic iron deficiency anemia. The main cause of dysphagia is the presence of the web in the cervical esophagus, and abnormal motility of the pharynx or esophagus is also found to play a significant role in this condition. This syndrome is thought to be precancerous because squamous cell carcinoma of hypopharynx, oral cavity or esophagus takes place in 10% of those patients suffering from this malady, but it is even more unusual that Plummer-Vinson syndrome should be accompanied by gastric cancer. We have reported here a case of a 43-year-old woman with Plummer-Vinson syndrome who developed stomach cancer and recovered after a radical total gastrectomy with D2 nodal dissection.

Keywords: Plummer-Vinson syndrome; Gastric cancer; Esophageal web