 |
Case Report
Colon cancer masquerading as recurrent abdominal abscesses
1 Guthrie Clinic/Robert Packer Hospital (Family Medicine Resident, Family Medicine, Robert Packer Hospital), Sayre, Pennsylvania, USA
Address correspondence to:
Alicia J Harbison
DO, ABFM, 3506 Kentucky Ave, Apt 3, Elmira, New York 14903,
USA
Message to Corresponding Author
Article ID: 100062Z10AH2019
Access full text article on other devices
Access PDF of article on other devices
How to cite this article
Harbison AJ. Colon cancer masquerading as recurrent abdominal abscesses. J Case Rep Images Oncology 2019;5:100062Z10AH2019.ABSTRACT
Introduction: One of the most common cancers is colorectal cancer (CRC). With improved techniques for screening, younger patients are being diagnosed with CRC. Rarely, patients have been diagnosed with CRC due to abscess formation. The following case illustrates this.
Case Report: A healthy 32-year-old female presents with severe left lower quadrant (LLQ) pain for a few days, initially thought to be gastroenteritis. Physical exam revealed rebound tenderness in LLQ. Patient was then evaluated in the emergency room (ER) without any significant findings. Patient continued to have pain, which led her to have a computed tomography (CT) scan, revealing an abscess. The abscess was adequately treated, but then reappeared in the same location. Having the abscess reappear in the same location led to further investigation by gastrointestinal (GI) via a colonoscopy, showing a stricture. The stricture was biopsied, which showed invasive adenocarcinoma.
Conclusion: Recommend when similar symptoms are presented, colon cancer enters the differential diagnosis, checking for infection, and having a colonoscopy performed.
Keywords: Abscess, Bacteroides fragilis, Colorectal cancer
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Raymond G. Brown and Robert Terry, MD for help with their editing of the paper.
Author ContributionsAlicia J Harbison - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthor declares no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2019 Alicia J Harbison. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
