A case of synchronous squamous cell carcinoma in the esophagus and stomach

Abstract

Synchronous esophageal and gastric cancers with the pathologic features of a squamous cell carcinoma are extremely rare. A 57-year-old male visited our hospital with a history of hematemesis and was diagnosed with a synchronous cancer. He underwent a staging work-up, and the resectable lesion in the stomach was operated on following radiologic and endoscopic evaluations. The pathologic examination revealed a synchronous cancer consisting of squamous cell carcinoma in the distal esophagus and the cardia of the stomach. We report a case of a synchronous cancer that was successfully treated by surgical resection followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy. We also discuss the hypothesis regarding the origin and presentation of the synchronous cancer and highlight the importance of careful surveillance by physicians at the time of diagnosis.