Colon Cancer After Liver Transplantation: Report of a Case

Toshio Shikano, Kazuharu Uchida*, Yoshihiro Tominaga*, Akio Katayama*, Susumu Matsuoka*, Hiroyuki Sugimoto, Naohito Kanazumi, Shuji Nomoto, Shin Takeda and Akimasa Nakao

Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya University School of Medicine
Department of Transplant and Endocrine Surgery, Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital*

We report a case of transverse colon cancer that developed after deceased-donor liver transplantation. In 1989, a 58-year-old woman underwent deceased-donor liver transplantation for liver failure related to primary biliary cirrhosis in the United States. Adrenal cortex hormone and immunosuppressive agents were administered in Japan. In 2005, regular follow-up computed tomography showed a tumor adjacent to the transverse colon-liver curvature, and a barium enema study and colonoscopic examination suggested type I colorectal cancer. The tumor adhered tightly to the transplanted liver, suggesting hepatic infiltration and necessitating a partial hepatectomy and right colectomy. Pathological diagnosis suggested well-differentiated adenocarcinoma (ss, n0, stage II). The postoperative course was uneventful, and she was discharged on postoperative day 12. Treatment with immunosuppressive agents after kidney or liver transplantation increases the incidence of malignant tumors. The number of post transplantation patients with malignant tumors is expected to increase with improvements in solid organ transplantation. This case is, to our knowledge, the first report of surgery for colorectal cancer after liver transplantation in Japan.

Key words
liver transplantation, colorectal cancer, immunosuppression

Reprint requests
Toshio Shikano Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya University School of Medicine
65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550 JAPAN

Accepted
July 25, 2007

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