Clinical and endoscopic aspects of metastases to the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract Background Studies that describe metastases to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are restricted to small case series. An increase in the frequency of this condition is expected, so it would be useful to better characterize the endoscopic aspects of metastasis to the GI tract. The aims of this study were to describe the frequency and endoscopic features of the lesions, and to analyze the survival rate after diagnosis of metastasis. Methods This was a retrospective, single-center, observational study, conducted between 2009 and 2017. Patients with metastasis to the GI tract were included. Results 95 patients were included. Melanoma (25.3 %), lung (15.8 %), and breast (14.7 %) were the most frequent primary tumors. The most common endoscopic presentation was a solitary, ulcerated lesion in the gastric body. Conventional biopsy was diagnostic in 98.9 % of the cases. The mean and median survival rates were 13.3 months (95 % confidence interval [CI] 8.2 – 18.3) and 4.7 months (95 %CI 3.7 – 5.6), respectively. Palliative treatment with chemo- and/or radiotherapy after the diagnosis of the metastasis was related to a higher survival rate. Conclusions Melanoma, lung, and breast cancer were the most common primary tumors to metastasize to the GI tract. The endoscopic features could not predict the primary site of the tumor. The finding of metastasis in the GI tract is related to the final stage of the cancer disease but patients who received palliative treatment with chemo- and/or radiotherapy after diagnosis of GI metastasis had higher survival rates.