Krukenberg tumor presenting as back pain and a positive urine pregnancy test: a case report and literature review

A Krukenberg tumor is a rare and potentially deadly cause of elevated serum β-hCG as part of a paraneoplastic syndrome. This study aims to describe the unusual case of a 36-year-old woman that presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with back pain and a positive urine pregnancy test. Assessment revealed no intrauterine pregnancy and a small left ovarian cyst. Further investigation showed moderately differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma with distant metastases to the spine. The patient died less than 3 months after her first presentation to the ED. Paraneoplastic syndrome, albeit rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of elevated β-hCG due to the high mortality associated with Krukenberg tumors.