Skip Navigation
Skip to contents

J Korean Med Sci.  2006 Jun;21(3):559-562. 10.3346/jkms.2006.21.3.559.

Gastric Syphilis Mimicking Adenocarcinoma: A Case Report

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pathology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. yhko@smc.samsung.co.kr

Abstract

Syphilis is an unexpected diagnosis in the stomach, and the reduced incidence of syphilis has made its clinical presentation less widely appreciated. We report a 43-yr-old man suffering from epigastric tenderness with an initial diagnosis of gastric carcinoma; gastric syphilis was confirmed by demonstrating spirochetes in a gastric biopsy specimen by silver impregnation. Excessive lymphoplasmacytic infiltration with diffuse thickening of gastric rugae should raise suspicion of gastric syphilis, which should be considered in the differential diagnosis of diffuse erosive gastritis and infiltrative lesions of the stomach.

Keyword

Stomach; Syphilis; Gastritis; Treponema Pallium

MeSH Terms

Syphilis/*diagnosis
Stomach Neoplasms/*diagnosis
Stomach Diseases/*diagnosis/microbiology
Stomach/microbiology
Male
Humans
Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody-Absorption Test
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
*Diagnosis, Differential
Biopsy
Adult
Adenocarcinoma/*diagnosis
Full Text Links
  • JKMS
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2026 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr