Gastric cancer surgery and adjuvant treatment followed by endocrine complications

This gastric cancer diagnosis at a glance

Subtype
Adenocarcinoma
Sex
Female
Treatment
surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy

Treatment course, step by step

  1. She underwent total gastrectomy in March 2023.
  2. She then completed 6 cycles of oxaliplatin, trastuzumab, and nivolumab as adjuvant treatment.

What happened, in summary

A 45-year-old woman was found to have gastric cancer during a routine gastroscopy. She underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy in March 2023. Pathology confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma, and the removed lymph nodes did not show metastatic disease.

After surgery, she completed 6 cycles of adjuvant treatment with oxaliplatin, trastuzumab, and nivolumab. During treatment, she developed thyroid dysfunction and started thyroid-hormone replacement.

Over the following months, her appetite and nutritional intake became poor, and she lost about 20 kg. She later developed episodes of severe low blood sugar, confusion, and convulsions. Further endocrine assessment identified isolated ACTH deficiency in addition to hypothyroidism. Her doctors considered the endocrine problems related to her systemic cancer treatment.

She received hormone replacement and nutritional support. Her mental state and appetite improved, and she was discharged after stabilization.

Where this story comes from

This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full

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