Treatment of gastric carcinoma with lymphoid stroma by immunotherapy: A case report

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer with lymphoid stroma (GCLS) is a rare type of gastric cancer characterized by abundant lymphocytic infiltration of the stroma. It is an Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancer with a better prognosis than typical gastric cancer but with similar symptoms. GCLS diagnosis is based on pathological, histological and immunohistochemical examination and there are no standardized guidelines for treatment. CASE SUMMARY: This case report describes a 72-year-old man with a 6-mo history of abdominal pain. Endoscopy revealed ulcerative lesions in the stomach and gastric cancer was suspected. A preoperative endoscopic biopsy indicated undifferentiated carcinoma and postoperative pathological, histological and immunohistochemical analyses of the resected specimen confirmed a final diagnosis of GCLS. CONCLUSION: The patient showed high programmed cell death-ligand 1 expression and recovered well after immunotherapy.