Simultaneous Occurrence of Gastric Carcinoma in The Non-Twin Brothers: Reports of Two Cases

Gastric carcinoma is a rare entity in brothers. A 54 year-old woman complained of epigastric pain and weight loss was found to have cancer in the body of the stomach. Her symptomatic brother was also evaluated and found to have carcinoma in the same region of the stomach. Although histological types of the cancer in the brothers were different, the associated changes of the gastric mucosa similar in both. Kinship studies suggest that carcinoma of the stomach tends to occur more frequently in certain families, but it is difficult to distinguish genetic from environmental influences in these cases. The finding of simultaneously gastric carcinoma in the non-twin brothers may suggest that environmental influences combined with genetic factors are important in the development of gastric neoplasia.