Early-stage sigmoid colon cancer resection followed by liver metastasis recurrence 1 year later and mesenteric recurrence more than 5 years later: a case report

Yumeto Mikuni; Michio Tani; Nobuki Ichikawa; Hiroki Matsui; Shin Emoto; Tadashi Yoshida; Takuya Otsuka; Shigenori Homma; Takahashi Norihiko; Akinobu Taketomi

doi:10.1186/s40792-023-01731-7

Early-stage sigmoid colon cancer resection followed by liver metastasis recurrence 1 year later and mesenteric recurrence more than 5 years later: a case report

Surg Case Rep. 2023 Aug 31;9(1):151. doi: 10.1186/s40792-023-01731-7.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Hokkaido University, North 15 West 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-8638, Japan. yume.mikuni.med@gmail.com.
² Department of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Hokkaido University, North 15 West 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-8638, Japan.
³ Department of Surgical Pathology, Hokkaido University Hospital, North 14 West 5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-8648, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) is often treated endoscopically, but additional surgical resection may be considered depending on pathological findings.

Case presentation: A 73-year-old man was found to have early-stage sigmoid colon cancer by colonoscopy during a medical examination, and endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) was performed. The lesion was a 7-mm-sized sessile polyp, and the pathological diagnosis was well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, pT1 (submucosal invasion of 400 μm), with no lymphovascular invasion, low budding grade, and negative horizontal and vertical margins. Therefore, the patient was observed without postoperative treatment. One year later, a computed tomography (CT) scan showed multiple liver metastases. After five courses of preoperative chemotherapy with folinic acid, 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) and panitumumab, liver metastases were reduced. The patient underwent extended right hepatic lobectomy. The pathological finding was well-to-moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, and immunohistochemistry findings were consistent with liver metastases from sigmoid colon cancer. Postoperatively, the patient received five courses adjuvant chemotherapy with FOLFOX. Although the patient had been recurrence-free for 5 years after liver resection, a CT scan revealed a nodular lesion in the sigmoid mesentery. Positron emission tomography (PET) showed abnormal accumulation in the same lesion. Therefore, the mesenteric nodules diagnosed as lymph metastasis and recurrence of sigmoid colon cancer and performed laparoscopic sigmoid colon resection with lymph node dissection. The pathological findings showed that the recurrent lesion in the mesentery formed a nodular infiltrate with venous, lymphatic, and neural invasion, but lymph node structures were not found, and it was assumed to be metastasis or recurrence due to lymphovascular invasion. The pathologic specimen of the sigmoid colon had no neoplastic lesions, which are considered to be a local recurrence on the mucosal surface. After sigmoid colectomy, adjuvant chemotherapy with CapeOX was conducted, and the patient has been recurrence-free for 13 months at present.

Conclusion: Even early-stage CRCs that have no pathological indications for additional resection have risks of metastases and recurrences, and we may need to consider that the criteria for additional resection should not be limited to pathological findings alone.

Keywords: Additional resection; Colorectal cancer; Distant period; Early-stage; Liver metastasis; Mesenteric recurrence; Pathological indications; Sigmoid colon cancer.