Gastric zygomycosis diagnosed by brushing cytology

Abstract

A 66-yr-old man with a history of squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma of the lung presented with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. After passing black stools, he underwent upper endoscopy which showed gastric ulceration. A gastric brushing was performed which showed numerous nonseptate, ribbon-like hyphae with right-angle branching. The cytologic features permitted a diagnosis of a zygomycotic infection which was confirmed by histologic examination. Despite appropriate antifungal therapy, the patient expired. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of gastric zygomycosis diagnosed by brushing cytology. We believe that gastric brushing cytology allows for rapid diagnosis of zygomycotic mycoses, due to the distinctive morphology of these organisms; however, histologic examination is still required for assessment of invasion.