Thirty-Five-Year-Old Woman with Signet Ring Cell Gastric Carcinoma Secondary to the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: A Case Report

The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident resulted in radiation exposures throughout much of Europe, with the highest exposures within the city of Pripyat, Ukraine, where the accident occurred. We report a woman who was exposed to the Chernobyl accident at age 13. Beginning in her early thirties, she experienced several years of upper abdominal pain that became progressively more severe. At age 35, she underwent upper endoscopy and gastric biopsy. Histological examination revealed a signet ring cell (SRC) gastric carcinoma. The tumor was discovered at an advanced stage and proved unresectable. She died 3 months following her diagnosis. The mean age for SRC gastric carcinoma diagnosis is about 62 years; the median survival following diagnosis is 13 months. The early appearance and aggressive clinical course of this malignancy in relation to the Chernobyl nuclear accident is discussed.