Linitis plastica of the stomach

Gastric linitis plastica is the medical term for a rare type of stomach (gastric) cancer. It can thicken your stomach wall and affect digestion. Treatment for linitis plastica is like treatment for other types of stomach cancers.

What is linitis plastica?

Linitis plastica is a type of adenocarcinoma. Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of stomach cancer.

Linitis plastica spreads to the muscles of the stomach wall and makes it thicker and more rigid.  

This means that the stomach can’t hold as much and doesn’t stretch or move as it should when you’re digesting food. This stiff walled stomach is sometimes called a leather bottle stomach.

Symptoms

Linitis plastica doesn’t usually cause symptoms until it has grown quite large or spread. Because of this it can be difficult to diagnose early, which then makes it harder to treat.

When it does cause symptoms, they are similar to stomach cancer symptoms.

Diagnosis

The tests you have to diagnose linitis plastica are similar to the tests for stomach cancer. Sometimes linitis plastica can be difficult to diagnose. 

Treatment for linitis plastica in the stomach

The main treatments for linitis plastic are surgery or chemotherapy. You might also have radiotherapy to help relieve your symptoms. 

Unfortunately, most people won't be able to have surgery. This is because linitis plastica is often found to have spread at diagnosis. 

Surgery

Your doctor might suggest that they remove your stomach. This is called a total gastrectomy.

This type of cancer is very fast growing and is often at an advanced stage at diagnosis. This means that surgery isn't usually possible. It might be difficult to completely remove a large cancer or one that has spread beyond the stomach wall. 

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy might be an option, if surgery isn't possible. Chemotherapy uses anti cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. The aim of chemotherapy treatment is to slow down the growth of the cancer and to relieve symptoms.

Chemotherapy can have side effects. It’s important to talk to your doctor about the side effects as well as the benefits of having chemotherapy. You also need to take into account how well you are generally when you make the decision about treatment. 

Radiotherapy

You might have radiotherapy to help relieve your symptoms. Radiotherapy uses high energy waves similar to x-rays to treat cancer.  

Coping

Coping with cancer can be very difficult. But there is help and support available.