[GASTRIC CANCER IN PREGNANCY].

Abstract

Introduction: Gastric carcinoma in pregnancy is rare and occurs in only 0.025% to 0.1% of all pregnancies. Due to it's symptoms of abdominal discomfort and nausea, which are common during pregnancy, the diagnosis is usually made in an advanced stage. We present a case of a 37 years old woman who presented at 18 weeks of gestation with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting accompanied with severe maternal ascites. Her workup included an MRI scan, abdominal and obstetrical ultrasound scans, sampling of the peritoneal fluid, gastroscopy and diagnostic laparoscopy. She was diagnosed with a stage four gastric carcinoma. As seen in this case and in the current literature, diagnosis of gastric carcinoma in pregnancy is difficult. It often tends to be made in stage three or four and usually carries a very poor prognosis. In this paper, we describe our experience with this patient and review the literature.