Gastric cancer with situs inversus totalis: does it really create difficulties for surgeons?

Introduction: Situs inversus totalis (SIT) is a very rare condition that is seen at a rate of one in about 6000-8000 births.

Aim: To offer a general view on the coexistence of SIT and gastric cancer, accompanied by a literature review.

Material and methods: Within the scope of this study, the case of a patient with gastric adenocarcinoma and SIT has been presented. Previous research on gastric cancer cases with SIT was reviewed through a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar databases. The keywords used to conduct this research were "situs inversus totalis and gastric cancer," "situs inversus totalis and gastric malignant," and "situs inversus totalis and gastric resection." The database search covered English studies published between 2000 and 2016.

Results: The results of our literature review revealed 20 studies of patients with gastric cancer and SIT, and 21 related cases. Overall, 12 of the patients were male, 9 were female, and their mean age was 61.8 ±10.97 years. The vascular assessment data showed that three out of the 13 mentioned cases had vascular anomalies. Eleven of the patients had laparoscopic resections, and one of the patients that had a surgical procedure exhibiting a postoperative mechanical obstruction.

Conclusions: The coexistence of SIT and gastric cancer is a very rare condition, and a careful preoperative radiological assessment should be conducted because there can be accompanying vascular anomalies. Laparoscopies and robotic surgeries can be performed for suitable patients at experienced centres, consistent with oncological principles.