Na-Ri Lee
1,2 
, Eun-Kee Song
1,2 , So-Yeon Jeon
1,2* 1 Division of Oncology and Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Jeonbuk National University Hospital-Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
2 Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
Abstract
An intramural gastric abscess is a rare condition often mistaken for other medical diseases such as gastric cancer and neoplasms. We present a case of a patient initially believed to have pancreatic cancer based on his computed tomography scan. The clinical diagnosis of locally advanced gastric cancer was made on subsequent magnetic resonance cholangiography and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). However, several EUS-guided biopsies did not reveal malignant cells. A partial gastrectomy was performed for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The specimen showed only inflammatory cells, without any malignant cells. The final diagnosis was gastric wall abscess (GWA) that infiltrated and adhered to the adjacent tissues. This case reminds that physicians should include GWA as a differential diagnosis in the suspicion of gastric cancer. Although GWA is rare, it is often forgotten when focusing on the possibility of fatal cancer.