Clinicoradiological Characteristics of Gastric Metastases: A Single Center Retrospective Study

Background: With recent advances in treatment, gastric metastases are increasingly becoming the subject of diagnostic imaging. On the other hand, it is difficult to detect gastric metastasis on CT finding images. Purpose: To characterize the CT findings of gastric metastasis and investigate its treatment method and natural history in patients. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the CT findings of 15 patients diagnosed with gastric metastasis between April 2003 and December 2019 in our hospital. The location, size, and shape of the tumors on CT were evaluated. Moreover, their medical records, characteristics, complications, treatment options, and natural course were evaluated. Results: Of the 15 patients with gastric metastasis, 9 were male and 6 were female. The median age was 74 (55-87) years. Gastric metastasis was diagnosed simultaneously with primary cancer in five patients. In other patients, the median interval time from the date of primary cancer diagnosis to gastric metastasis diagnosis was 27 (10-259) months. CT findings revealed that the gastric metastasis had a median size of 18 (12-135) mm and was mainly located in the middle third of the stomach. In addition, most patients had a submucosal tumor (SMT) pattern, followed by diffuse wall thickness and polypoid patterns (11 [73.3%], 3 [20.0%], and 1 [6.7%], respectively). The median time to death after gastric metastasis diagnosis was 112 (17-883) days. Conclusion: The SMT pattern in the middle third of the stomach is the characteristic CT finding of gastric metastasis.