J Korean Surg Soc.  2011 Jun;80(Suppl 1):S26-S30. 10.4174/jkss.2011.80.Suppl1.S26.

Sarcomatoid carcinoma of colon: extremely poor prognosis

• Choi YY
• Jeen YM
• Kim YJ

• KMID: 2096645
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4174/jkss.2011.80.Suppl1.S26

Abstract

Colonic sarcomatoid carcinomas are known to be extremely rare tumors, with only 22 cases reported either as sarcomatoid carcinomas or carcinosarcomas in the literature. The known characteristics are rapid growth, a high recurrence rate, and an extremely poor prognosis. Herein we report a case of a patient who had a sarcomatoid carcinoma of the sigmoid colon and died only 22 days after surgery due to rapid tumor growth.

Keyword

Carcinosarcoma; Sarcomatoid carcinoma; Colon

MeSH Terms

Carcinosarcoma
Colon
Colon, Sigmoid
Humans
Prognosis
Recurrence

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Preoperative computed tomography findings. (A) Huge mass on pelvic cavity. Arrow, internal bleeding on tumor; Dotted arrow, gas forming abscess on tumor due to rupture. (B) Huge mass on pelvic cavity.

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  Fig. 2 Pre-operative computed tomography findings. (A) Arrow, nodule on liver S4; Dotted arrow, perisplenic hematoma. (B) Arrow, hepatic nodule on S6. (C) Arrow, hepatic nodule on S7. (D) Arrow, enhanced nodule with fat infiltration on omentum.

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  Fig. 3 Histological findings. (A) The tumor was composed of two components. (B) The adenocarcinoma area was located mainly in the luminal surface and was moderately differentiated. (C) In the deeper area, the sarcomatous area was juxtaposed to the carcinoma area. (D) The high power view revealed spindle to epithelioid cells with high grade anaplasia.

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  Fig. 4 Immunohistochemical stains showed (A) strong positivity for cytokeratin in the carcinoma area and focal positivity in the sarcomatous area. (B) The vimentin was expressed in the sarcomatous tumor cells.

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