Gastroesophageal cancer and retroperitoneal fibrosis: Two case reports and review of the literature

Retroperitoneal fibrosis secondary to malignant disease is a rare condition associated with a dismal prognosis. We herein present the first ever reported case of retroperitoneal fibrosis related to esophageal adenocarcinoma in a 63-year-old patient who developed bilateral ureteral obstruction due to extensive retroperitoneal fibrosis 18 mo after having completed neoadjuvant chemoradation followed by surgery for a pT3N0 adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus. We also report the case of a previously healthy woman who presented with bilateral ureteral obstruction and diffuse narrowing of the common biliary duct and was found to have extensive retroperitoneal fibrosis as a consequence of metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma. Both patients had poor performance status and were unsuitable for palliative chemotherapy. This paper shows that urinary and biliary obstructive symptoms might represent retroperitoneal fibrosis as a consequence of gastroesophageal malignancy.