A Case of Liver Metastases from Carcinoma of the Rectum Associated with Tumor Thrombus in the Portal Vein

Minoru Esaki, Haruhiko Chigira, Takehito Katoh, Yoshihisa Shibata, Shigemi Onoue, Yasuji Mokuno, Katsushi Yoshida, Satoshi Kamiya, Tetsuya Abe and Matsuyoshi Maeda*

Departments of Surgery and Pathology*, Toyohashi Municipal Hospital

A 68-year-old man, who had undergone low anterior resection for carcinoma of the rectum, was found to have liver tumors by ultrasonography 5 months later. Computed tomography and angiography demonstrated liver tumors in the left lobe with tumor thrombus in the portal vein. Under the thrombus in the portal vein. Under the diagnosis of metastases from carcinoma of the rectum, left hepatic lobectomy was performed. The resected specimen showed that multiple tumors were located in the lateral and medial segments, and that the left portal vein was involved with tumor thrombus. Histological study showed that the tumors were metastases from rectal cancer. The patient had recurrent lesion in the caudate lobe of the remnant liver 2 years and 2 months after hepatectomy. He died 3 years and 10 months after that. The preoperative diagnosis of tumor thrombus of the portal vein, which is rarely associated with the metastatic liver cancers, is important for proper surgical therapy.

Key words
carcinoma of the rectum, metastatic liver tumor, tumor thrombus in the portal vein

Reprint requests
Minoru Esaki National Cancer Center Hospital 5-1-1 tsukiji, Chuuou-ku, Tokyo, 104-0045 JAPAN

Accepted
April 26, 2000

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