To explore the characteristic of diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicated with primary gastric non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma(PGNHL).

Retrospective analysis was performed in one patient who was diagnosed with HCC complicated with PGNHL in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in October 2006. Local ethical committee approval had been received and that the informed consent of the subject was obtained. The clinical data including case history, treatment procedures, efficacy, blood routine, liver function, viral serology, abdominal ultrasound, abdominal computed tomography(CT), electronic gastroscopy examination as well as treatment were analyzed and the treatment characteristics were summarized.

The patient (male,76 years old) was admitted in hospital for progressive fatigue and loss of appetite with a 30-year hepatitis B virus infection history. Both preoperative abdominal ultrasound and CT indicated gastric cancer with liver metastasis. The electronic gastroscope test showed huge mass in the gastral cavity. The biopsy indicated poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent total gastrectomy and resection of all metastasis including left lateral lobe of liver, spleen and the tail of pancreas. The postoperative pathological examination demonstrated two different pathological types: gastric diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and moderately-differentiated HCC. The patient received chemotherapy and was followed up for 67 months after the operation. No recurrence was observed.

HCC complicated with PGNHL is rare and might be closely related to the long-term hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection. Patients with HCC and PGNHL have no specific clinical manifestations. The diagnosis is confirmed by pathological examination. Radical resection is the preferred treatment for better prgonosis.