Incidental Diagnosis of Gastric Cancer Following Cesarean Section - A Case Report

Gastrointestinal system malignancy with pregnancy is a very rare condition and is not common outside Japan. Gastric cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or lactation occurs in a rare probability of only 0.025 to 0.1% of all pregnancies. The most common cause of this condition is that the symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite and abdominal growth are mistaken with pregnancy and malignancy is overlooked. Especially in the second trimester, symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, weight loss, melena, hematemesis and deep anemia should suggest malignancy. Endoscopic examination should not be delayed in suspected cases. The prognosis of gastric cancer during pregnancy is poor because most cases present at an advanced stage; the diagnosis is delayed because the symptoms are all nonspecific for cancer and are attributed to the pregnancy.