BMJ Case Reports 2011; doi:10.1136/bcr.12.2010.3597
Rare disease
Krukenberg tumour arising from adenocarcinoma of the gastro-oesophageal junction in a 28-year-old female presenting as lower abdominal swelling mimicking an inguinal hernia
Hosam E Matar1,
Ashraf S Elmetwally2,
Iliya Salu2,
Rudi Borgstein3,
Olu Oluwajobi2
+ Author Affiliations
1Department of General Surgery, Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, London, UK
2Department of General Surgery, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, Sterling Way, London, UK
3Department of Radiology, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, Sterling Way, London, UK
Summary
Krukenberg tumours arising from gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinomas prior to the fourth decade are extremely rare. The authors present the case of a 28-year-old patient who was then 4 years of age, residing close to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor at the time of the nuclear disaster in 1986, and was found to have late-stage Krukenberg tumours from a gastro-oesophageal primary. Her presentation with right groin pain initially raised a suspicion of an occult groin hernia. Clinicians are reminded to delve deeply into the social history in their enquiries with Eastern European patients who present with unusual clinical features and were in utero, young and living in proximity to the nuclear fallout zone at the time of the incident.
