Case reportA 74-year-old man with a history of two operations for gastric cancer was admitted to our hospital in January 2005. The fi rst operation was a distal gastrectomy and Billroth I reconstruction for early gastric cancer, in 1994. Histologically, the tumor was signet-ring cell carcinoma confi ned to the submucosa, and no lymph node metastasis was detected.In January, 2002, an ulcerative tumor, measuring 5.0 × 2.5 cm, was found in the lesser curvature of the subcardia in the remnant stomach, and he underwent a completion gastrectomy with regional lymphadenectomy. Reconstruction was by the Roux-en-Y method, with a jejunal pouch. The pouch was created by a making a side-to-side anastomosis of the jejunal loop with a linear stapler and apical section of unstapled jejunal loop, then an esophagojejunostomy was performed using a circular stapler. Histologically, the tumor was moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma invading the proper muscle layer (T2a), without permeation of the lymphatic or venous capillaries. The cancer-stroma relationship was medullary. The proximal and distal resection margins were free of cancer invasion. No lymph node metastasis was seen (stage IB), and the patient was followed up without adjuvant chemotherapy.In October 2004, a follow-up endoscopy revealed irregularly shaped elevated lesions on the esophagojejunostomy line and along the suture line in the jejunal pouch (Fig. 1). Biopsy showed moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. Computed tomography showed no lymphadenopathy or hepatic metastasis. The patient's performance status was good, and we decided to perform a third operation with the diagnosis of local recurrence.In January 2005, we performed a transabdominal resection of the lower esophagus and jejunal pouch. There was no evidence of hepatic or peritoneal recur-
AbstractWe herein present a case of recurrence of gastric cancer in the jejunal pouch after total gastrectomy in a 74-year-old man. He had a history of two operations for gastric cancer. The second operation was a completion gastrectomy with jejunal pouch reconstruction and regional lymphadenectomy, for gastric cancer in the cardia of the remnant stomach, performed 2 years and 9 months before the present admission. A followup endoscopy showed three elevated tumors along the suture lines in the jejunal pouch in the upper digestive tract. Resection of the jejunal pouch was performed. Gross pathological examination revealed elevated lesions along the staple suture lines in the jejunal pouch. Histopathologically, moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma involving the muscular layer, without lymphatic metastases, was recognized. Recurrence of gastric cancer in the jejunal pouch after resection is rare. We suggest that implantation of exfoliated cancer cells gave rise to the recurrence of tumors on the suture line in this patient. We also review two cases of gastric cancer in the jejunal pouch after resection previously described in the literature.