Successful curative resection of gastric cancer with AIDS infection.

This report describes the case of a 47-year-old Japanese man with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection with AIDS, who was successfully treated for gastric cancer. A review of gastric cancer associated with HIV is also presented. Prior to surgical treatment, azidothymidine (AZT), nerfinavir (NFV), and lamivudine (3TC) were administered to the patient in order to improve his blood CD4 count and reduce the viral burden. Consequently, distal gastrectomy was performed as a curative resection without any complications. The gastric cancer included a signet-ring cell carcinoma, as was noted in eight of the nine reported cases associated with HIV. This suggests that the HIV virus may play a role in causing signet-ring cell carcinoma, especially in the stomach.