Koji Namekata

Laparoscopic Resection of Schwannoma of the Ascending Colon

Schwannomas of the colon are rare and difficult to diagnose preoperatively. We report a case of schwannoma of the ascending colon that was resected laparoscopically. A 64-year-old woman was referred to our hospital by her local clinic for further evaluation and management of a submucosal tumor of the ascending colon. A definitive preoperative diagnosis could not be reached despite examinations. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor, leiomyoma and lymphoma were the differential diagnoses. We performed a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy with D2 lymph node dissection. Histological findings with hematoxylin-eosin staining revealed spindle-like tumor cells, and immunohistochemical analysis showed that the tumor was positive for S-100 but negative for c-kit, CD34, smooth muscle actin and desmin, with a Ki-67 index of <5%. Thus, the diagnosis in this case was benign schwannoma of the ascending colon.

Report of a case: Retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma with rapid progression

Highlights • A very rare case of large retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma and little-known clinical course of the disease is reported.• The disease took unexpectedly aggressive progression despite the small portion of adenocarcinoma for the multiple and large cysts.• Informative findings in imaging of primary retroperitoneal mucinous cyst adenocarcinoma, and impressive imaging after recurrence are presented.

Metastatic Small Bowel Tumor from Descending Colon Cancer with Extensive Hematogenous or Lymphogenous Spread: Survey of the Japanese Literature.

We present the case of a 68-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with cancer of the descending colon in July 1994 and underwent partial resection of the colon (type 2, moderately to well differentiated adenocarcinoma, se, ly1, v1, n(–)). In April 1996, she was admitted to a nearby hospital for symptoms of ileus, which improved at the hospital. However, she was referred to our hospital for melena. In blood test, Hb was 8.7 g/dl, showing anemia, and carcinoembryonic antigen level was elevated to 50.7 ng/ml. Abdominal CT and small bowel series showed only mild expansion of the small bowel, suggesting no obvious occlusion. Abdominal surgery was performed in May 1995 for repeated development of ileus symptoms and suspicion of bleeding from the small bowel. Since the findings of the abdominal surgery showed a circular tumor in the lower ileum, partial resection of the small bowel was performed. Histopathological examination showed type 3, moderately to well differentiated adnocarcinoma, se, ly2, v0, n = 1/13. The principal tumor was located within the subserosa and grew up exclusively through the muscularis propria and the submucosa, into the mucous layer. The mucosa remained slightly on the surface layer. Based on these findings, the patient was diagnosed with metastasis of descending colon cancer to the small bowel. Her prognosis was good, and neither metastasis nor redevelopment of the cancer have been confirmed to date, 11 years and 7 months since the surgery.