Long-term survival after resection of brain metastases from esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma: report of two cases and review of the literature

The prognosis for brain metastasis from primary esophageal or gastric cancer is often poor because of late detection and a lack of effective treatments. We encountered two cases of long-term survival after resection of brain metastasis that was detected >1 year after primary esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma resection. Both patients underwent total gastrectomy, middle to lower esophagectomy, and Roux-en-Y reconstruction using the jejunum, and intrathoracic anastomosis was performed via right thoracotomy and laparotomy for primary tumor resection as well as brain metastasis resection followed by CyberKnife irradiation. They remained recurrence free—one remains alive after 6.5 years, while the other died of myocardial infarction 4 years after surgery. The present cases emphasize that long-term survival in patients with brain metastasis from gastric cancer can be expected after resection and stereotactic radiosurgery of brain metastasis detected >1 year after the resection of primary gastric adenocarcinoma.