Successful resection of a liver metastasis from gastric leiomyoblastoma: Report of a case

A 20-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for detailed investigation of a gastric submucosal tumor. A leiomyoma was preoperatively diagnosed an d laparoscopic-assisted enucleation was performed. The resected tumor was 4 x 3 x 1.5 cm in size and postoperative histological examination identified it as a gastric leiomyoblastoma. Therefore, a secondary resection in the f orm of a distal gastrectomy was carried out. No tumor cells were found in t he gastric specimen or in the lymph nodes; however, 5 months after the oper ation, an abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a recurrence in the l iver, and she was readmitted for further examinations. The lesion was diagn osed as a single liver metastasis from the gastric leiomyoblastoma and succ essfully resected. The histopathological findings of the liver tumor resemb led those of the primary gastric tumor. Her postoperative course was uneven tful and she has been well, without any evidence of recurrence, to date. On ly 12 other cases of leiomyoblastoma of the stomach with liver metastasis h ave been reported in Japan, all of which were associated with a very poor p rognosis. Therefore, patients with this unusual disease entity should be ca refully followed up after resection of the primary tumor.