A Case of Endocrine Cell Carcinoma of the Rectum

Masanori Tsujie, Nobuhiro Shibata, Takashi Nomura, Hiroshi Okuda and Masashi Takeda^*

Department of Surgery, Yao Municipal Hospital
^*Department of Pathology, Yao Municipal Hospital

A 61-year-old woman with lower abdominal discomfort was referred to our hospital due to positive occult blood in the stool. Colonofiberscopy showed a rectosigmoid tumor diagnosed pathologically as adenocarcinoma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an elevated tumor with a dominant submucosal component. Anterior resection with lymphadenectomy, hysterectomy with bilateral salpingooophorectomy, and partial resection of ileum were done. Microscopic examination of the surgical specimen revealed small foci of differentiated adenocarcinoma in the superficial area of endocrine cell carcinoma occupying most of the tumor. Small foci showing carcinoid-like differentiation were observed in the endocrine cell carcinoma area. She died 5 months postoperatively of multiple metastatic lesions in the liver and paraaortic lymph nodes and local recurrence. Endocrine cell carcinomas are often reported to coexist with adenocarcinoma, but to our knowledge, it is very rare to find carcinoid-like differentiation in endocrine cell carcinoma.

Key words
endocrine cell carcinoma of the rectum

Reprint requests
Masanori Tsujie Department of Surgery and Clinical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University E2, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, 565-0871, JAPAN

Accepted
November 27, 2002

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