White Globe Appearance-Like Findings Indicating Intralymphatic Cancer Involvement Beneath the Epithelium in Gastric Cancer.

Abstract

A 75-year-old female was diagnosed with a type 0-I, moderately differentiated, early gastric carcinoma on the posterior wall of the middle gastric body during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Several small whitish structures, referred to as white globe appearances (WGAs), were noted on the oral side outside the demarcation line of the cancerous protrusion. Although this area was flat without cancerous mucosal changes on the surface, subepithelial cancer extension was suspected. The histopathology of the resected specimen revealed that the carcinoma with submucosal invasion had significant lymphatic invasion with submucosal lateral extent along lymphatic vessels. In some areas, the carcinoma within the lymphatic vessels regressed from the submucosal layer towards the mucosal lamina propria, penetrating the muscularis mucosas. The intralymphatic carcinoma reaching just beneath the epithelium was considered to manifest WGA features during endoscopy.