J Korean Med Sci.  2001 Oct;16(5):657-660. 10.3346/jkms.2001.16.5.657.

Sarcomatoid Carcinoma of the Colon: A Case Report

• Kim JH
• Moon WS
• Kang MJ
• Park MJ
• Lee DG

• KMID: 2157578
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2001.16.5.657

Abstract

Sarcomatoid carcinoma is a rare biphasic tumor characterized by a combination of malignant epithelial and mesenchymal cells. We report a rare case of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the colon. A 41-yr-old woman was hospitalized with a history of melena. Total colectomy was performed under the impression of colonic carcinoma. Histologically, the tumor was composed of differentiated adenocarcinoma in superficial portion and sarcomatoid spindle cells in deeper portion with a transitional area between the two portions. The sarcomatous areas revealed polygonal and spindle-shaped anaplastic malignant cells arranged in sheet, short fascicular or haphazard pattern. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells showed a positive immunoreaction for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, and vimentin. The histopathological and immunohistochemical transitions between the adenocarcinoma area and the spindle cell area suggested that the sarcomatous elements originated from the adenocarcinoma during tumor progression.

Keyword

Carcinosarcoma; Colon; Immunohistochemistry

MeSH Terms

Adult
Carcinosarcoma/chemistry/diagnosis/*pathology
Case Report
Colonic Neoplasms/chemistry/diagnosis/*pathology
Female
Human
Immunohistochemistry