Case Report
Copyright ©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 21, 2008; 14(43): 6750-6752
Published online Nov 21, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.6750
Concomitant gastric adenocarcinoma and stromal tumor in a woman with polymyalgia rheumatica
Panteleimon Kountourakis, Niki Arnogiannaki, Ilias Stavrinides, Nikiforos Apostolikas, Gerasimos Rigatos
Panteleimon Kountourakis, Ilias Stavrinides, Gerasimos Rigatos, First Department of Medical Oncology, Saint Savvas Anticancer Hospital, Athens, Greece
Niki Arnogiannaki, Nikiforos Apostolikas, Pathology Department, Saint Savvas Anticancer Hospital, Athens, Greece
Author contributions: Kountourakis P provided patient’s data, organized and wrote the manuscript; Arnogiannaki N examined the resected tumor, provided the figures and contributed to manuscript writing; Stavrinides I provided patient’s data and approved the final manuscript; Apostolikas N examined the resected tumor and approved the final manuscript; Rigatos G supervised and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to: Panteleimon Kountourakis, First Department of Medical Oncology, Saint Savvas Anticancer Hospital, 171 Alexandras Ave, 11522 Athens, Greece. pantkount@hotmail.com
Telephone: +30-2-106409382 Fax: +30-2-106409381
Received: June 3, 2008
Revised: October 17, 2008
Accepted: October 24, 2008
Published online: November 21, 2008
Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare neoplasms (1%) of the gastrointestinal tract and to our knowledge only rare cases of synchronous presentation of gastric carcinomas and GISTs are reported in the literature. A 72-year-old female with a simultaneous presentation of gastric adenocarcinoma and GIST is presented. Moreover, due to polymyalgia rheumatica the patient received corticosteroids as treatment for the last 3 years. The concomitant occurrence of these neoplasms may involve common carcinogenic factors and there could be an association with polymyalgia rheumatica either as a paraneoplastic presentation or due to its treatment with corticosteroids.

Keywords: Gastric adenocarcinoma, Gastrointestinal stromal tumor, Paraneoplastic presentation, Polymyalgia rheumatica, Corticosteroids