Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach (HAS) is a rare type of gastric cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. The current study reports a rare case of HAS, characterized by gastric cancer and infiltration of cancer cells into the left liver lobe, as well as lymphadenectasis. The expression of α-fetoprotein (AFP) was markedly increased in the tumor cells of the liver neoplasms. A gastric biopsy indicated highly, moderately and poorly differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent two cycles of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin (130 mg; day 1) and capecitabine (2 mg, twice daily; days 1-14). At 7 weeks after the chemotherapy, an expanded gastrectomy and radical resection of left lung lobe were performed on the operable lesion. AFP expression was significantly decreased following the procedure. A literature review was also conducted by searching PubMed/Medline, indicating that surgery and chemotherapy may positively affect the outcomes of HAS patients.
Keywords: chemotherapy; gastric cancer; hepatoid adenocarcinoma of stomach; prognosis; α-fetoprotein.