Upper Extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis Secondary to Gastric Cancer: A Case Report
Research article published in Cureus (2026)
Abstract
Upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (UEDVT) is uncommon and is frequently secondary to malignancy, central venous catheterization, or hypercoagulable states. Cancer‑associated thrombosis represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with malignancy. A 75‑year‑old Japanese woman presented with swelling of the left upper extremity accompanied by epigastric discomfort. Contrast‑enhanced computed tomography revealed thrombosis in the left subclavian vein and multiple metastatic lesions, including hepatic hilar lymph node and spinal metastases. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy demonstrated irregular mucosa with erosions from the gastric angle to the antrum, and pathological examination confirmed poorly to moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with signet‑ring cell features. The patient was diagnosed with UEDVT secondary to gastric cancer. Anticoagulation therapy with unfractionated heparin improved swelling and pain, and the patient was transitioned to oral apixaban. Chemotherapy was subsequently initiated; however, the patient died nine months after diagnosis due to disease progression. This case highlights the importance of investigating occult malignancy in patients presenting with unexplained venous thromboembolism and initiating prompt anticoagulation therapy.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Summary
Peer-reviewed clinical and outcomes research relevant to medicinal leech therapy and its biology. Indexed in PubMed and verified against the NCBI record.
Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy
This case report documents a 75-year-old woman whose upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis proved to be a presenting sign of occult metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma; she was anticoagulated with unfractionated heparin transitioned to apixaban, and the authors emphasize investigating hidden malignancy in unexplained venous thromboembolism. It is relevant to ASH only as landscape, illustrating cancer-associated thrombosis and the antithrombotic agents used to treat it, the same coagulation-cascade problem that the leech secretome's anticoagulant peptides (hirudin and related molecules) historically addressed and that underpins the leech drug-discovery story. The caveats are firm: this is a single case report, the lowest evidence tier and inherently anecdotal, the patient died at nine months from disease progression, and no leech, hirudin, or hirudotherapy was involved, so it carries no direct evidence for or against medicinal-leech therapy.
Citation
Upper Extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis Secondary to Gastric Cancer: A Case Report.
Takano et al. · Cureus, 2026
Added to ASH library: May 29, 2026 · Site last updated: June 18, 2026