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A 32-year-old man underwent genetic testing after his older brother was diagnosed with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. Testing showed the same monoallelic deletion of exons 1-2 of the CDH1 gene. CT scans and endoscopic biopsies initially showed no active stomach cancer, but the inherited risk was considered high enough that he chose preventive total gastrectomy.
After the stomach was removed, detailed pathology found 3 microscopic foci of signet ring cells in the stomach lining, consistent with poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma. The cancer had not invaded the submucosa, and none of 30 tested lymph nodes contained cancer.
He initially recovered and went home 7 days after surgery. Five days later he returned with abdominal pain and vomiting and was ultimately treated for pancreatitis. He recovered and was discharged again. At the latest follow-up, he continued to do well with no evidence of disease.
This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full
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These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer