Chylous ascites and chylothorax as presenting manifestations of stomach carcinoma.

Chylous ascites and chylothorax appeared as the presenting symptoms of metastatic carcinoma of the stomach in a 69-year-old male. Although in the last decade malignancies, predominantly lymphomas, have been responsible for most cases of spontaneous chylous ascites or chylothorax, carcinoma of the stomach was very rarely described as the cause of this entity. The criteria for diagnosis of chylous fluid and the etiology and treatment of this condition are reviewed.