A case of transverse colon cancer with marked extraluminal progression

• Published in: Nihon Rinsho Geka Gakkai Zasshi (Journal of Japan Surgical Association) Vol. 73; no. 5; pp. 1168 - 1173
• Main Authors: KATAOKA, Masaaki, OOEDA, Yoshio, WAKATSUKI, Kazuo, MIYAZAWA, Kotaro, YOSHIOKA, Shigeru, TONOOKA, Toru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Surgical Association 2012
• Subjects: colorectal cancer; extraluminal progression; moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma
• ISSN: 1345-2843; 1882-5133
• DOI: 10.3919/jjsa.73.1168

A 77-year-old man was admitted for an epigastric mass. The abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showed a fist-size spherical tumor between the stomach and the transverse colon. Colonoscopy could not detect an intraluminal lesion, so a non-epithelial tumor was suspected preoperatively. Intraoperative findings showed a soft spherical tumor invading the transverse colon and adhesion to the stomach was suspected. So he underwent tumor resection with partial resection of both organs. The resected specimen disclosed that a small amount of the tumor arose above the normal colonic mucosa and the main constituent of the tumor existed extraluminally. Histopathological findings revealed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the transverse colon showing extraluminal expansive growth, without lymph node metastasis. We report a rare case of transverse colon cancer showing marked extraluminal progression, together with a review of the literature.