Heterochronic triple primary malignancies with Epstein-Barr virus infection and tumor protein 53 gene mutation: A case report and review of literature.

backgroundThe diagnosis and etiology of multiple primary malignant neoplasms (MPMNs) are difficult to establish. Here, we report a case of heterochronic triple primary malignancies with gastric cancer, nasopharyngeal squamous cell cancer, and then rectal cancer. CASE SUMMARY: The patient was first diagnosed with gastric cancer at the age of 33 in 2014 and underwent distal gastrectomy and gastrojejunostomy and six cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. Three years later, he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer and treated with radical chemoradiotherapy in 2017. Recently, a mass in the middle of the rectum was resected and reported as ulcerative, moderately to poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Research on the etiology of MPMNs showed that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection may be the cause of gastric cancer and nasopharyngeal squamous cell cancer since these two primary lesions were positive for transcripts of EBV-encoded ribonucleic acid using an

conclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first report on heterochronic triple primary malignancies whose cause may be associated with EBV infection and tumor protein 53 genetic mutations. The etiological research may not only elucidate the cause of MPMN but also has implications in clinical management.