Case Report
Gastrointestinal Bleeding Secondary to Metastatic Duodenal
Choriocarcinoma in a Patient with Concomitant Peptic
Ulcer Disease
Ahmed Elfiky ,
1
Asmaa Mokhtar,
1
Mira Alsheikh,
2
Hassan Almoussawi,
2
and Stephen Mulrooney
2
1
Department of Internal Medicine, Staten Island University Hospital-Northwell Health, New York, NY, USA
2
Department of Gastroenterology, Staten Island University Hospital-Northwell Health, New York, NY, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Ahmed Elfiky; aelfiky1@northwell.edu
Received 31 October 2020; Accepted 23 February 2021; Published 3 March 2021
Academic Editor: Haruhiko Sugimura
Copyright © 2021 Ahmed Elfiky et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Testicular tumors are one of the most common solid tumors in young males. Choriocarcinoma usually presents as metastatic
disease. Gastrointestinal tract involvement is rare. We report a case of a 40-year-old male presenting to our hospital with a three-
day history of dyspnea on exertion and black stool after recent diagnosis of testicular choriocarcinoma. Urgent EGD performed
revealed small clean-based fundal ulcer and an antral ulcer without the stigma of recent bleeding. Capsule endoscopy was
performed and revealed a bleeding ill-defined mass in the proximal duodenum. A subsequent push enteroscopy showed an
ulcerated bleeding mass in the third part of the duodenum that was treated with a hemospray with adequate hemostasis. Pathology
was consistent with pure choriocarcinoma. e patient received a cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimen. e patient tolerated
the chemotherapy regimen well and was discharged for outpatient follow-up. At the three-month follow-up, the patient did not
show evidence of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding.
1. Introduction
Testicular tumors are one of the most common solid tumors in
males aged 15–35 years, with germ cell tumors being the most
common type [1]. Choriocarcinoma, the most aggressive
subtype, usually presents with metastasis owing to the frequent
hematogenous and lymphatic spread. e most common sites
of metastasis are the lungs, liver, brain, and bone [2]. Gas-
trointestinal tract involvement is rare. We report a case of a 40-
year-old male presenting with upper gastrointestinal bleed
secondary to metastatic duodenal choriocarcinoma.
2. Case Description
A 40-year-old male presented to the hospital with a three-
day history of dyspnea on exertion and black stool. He was
recently diagnosed with testicular choriocarcinoma and lung
metastasis. He underwent left radical orchiectomy ten days
prior to admission. e pathology revealed choriocarcinoma
with immunopathological stain positive for human cho-
rionic gonadotropin. e patient was in the process of
evaluation for chemotherapy at the time of the presentation.
Vital signs upon presentation were notable for a heart rate of
122/minute, otherwise stable. Physical exam was significant
for mild epigastric tenderness and melena on the digital
rectal exam. Initial blood work revealed acute microcytic
anemia with a hemoglobin of 8.4 g/dL. Hemoglobin three
weeks before the presentation was 14 g/dL. Upper gastro-
intestinal bleeding was suspected; the patient was resusci-
tated and started on pantoprazole infusion. Urgent
esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) performed after
10 hours of presentation with the finding of one small clean
based fundic ulcer and a 2 cm antral ulcer without the stigma
of recent bleeding.
Because of persistent melena and a drop in the hemo-
globin level requiring transfusion of 2 pRBCs, colonoscopy
Hindawi
Case Reports in Gastrointestinal Medicine
Volume 2021, Article ID 6664147, 3 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6664147