A Patient with Hematochezia and Intestinal Obstruction

(hemoglobin concentration, 7.4 g/dL), and elevated CA-125 levels (75.10 U/mL). Sigmoidoscopy was performed, show - ing a polypoid, fungating mass with colonic obstruction in the rectum, located 11 cm from the anal verge (Fig. A). Chronic inflammation with ulceration and epithelial hyper - plasia were observed in the mucosal layer of endoscopic bi - opsies. A CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis revealed an ill- defined enhancing lesion in the rectum, abutting the uterus (Fig. B). Strong fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the rectum was noted on PET-CT scanning (Fig. C). Further analysis by T2W sagittal imaging and MRI confirmed the presence of a fungating rectal mass that was infiltrating the uterus (Fig. D). Although the presence of cancer was not confirmed in colonoscopic biopsies, we decided to operate based on clini- cal suspicions of invasive rectal malignancy and colonic ob - A Patient with Hematochezia and Intestinal Obstruction K yong Yong Oh, Yoon Jae Kim Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon University Gil Hospital, Incheon, Korea Received June 3, 2014. Revised June 12, 2014. Accepted June 12, 2014. Correspondence to Yoon Jae Kim, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon University Gil Hospital, 24 Namdong-daero 774beon-gil, Namdong-gu, Incheon 405-760, Korea. Tel: +82-32-460-3778, Fax: +82-32-460-3408, E-mail: [email protected] Financial support: None. Conflict of interest: None. IMAGES OF THE ISSUE Question: A 37-year-old woman presented at our hospital with hematochezia (approximately 200 cc). She had experi - enced constipation and abdominal pain for one month, and four days previously had been admitted to the Department of Gynecology for a cervical polyp with vaginal bleeding. She had undergone bilateral salpingectomy for blocked fallopian tubes at another hospital 3 years prior to the current admis - sion. On admission, initial laboratory findings revealed anemia © Copyright 2014. Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases. All rights reserved. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ISSN 1598-9100(Print) • ISSN 2288-1956(Online) http://dx.doi.org/10.5217/ir.2014.12.3.256 Intest Res 2014;12(3):256-257 BA C D http://dx.doi.org/10.5217/ir.2014.12.3.256 • Intest Res 2014;12(3):256-257 257www.irjournal.org struction. The patient underwent low anterior resection and total abdominal hysterectomy. Numerous polypoid rectal masses were subsequently detected in the gross specimen. Severe fibrosis and adhesions between the rectum and the lateral wall of uterus were also observed (Fig. E). A patho - logic analysis of H&E staining (×100) in the surgical speci - men revealed an endometrial-like gland with multifocal stromal cells in the rectum and regional lymph node (Fig. F). Cytokeratin 7-positive cells were detected by immunohisto - chemical staining for cytokeratin 7 (Fig. G, ×100). What is the most likely diagnosis? Answer to the Images: Rectal Endometriosis Causing Colonic Obstruction Endometriosis of the bowel is indicated by the presence of an endometrial-like gland and stromal cells in the intes - tinal wall. The occurrence of bowel endometriosis in the general population is unknown, though it is estimated to afflict 3.8−37% of women with endometriosis. 1 Intestinal en - dometriosis may affect the ileum, appendix, sigmoid colon and rectum, though it occurs most frequently in the rectosig- moid colon (50−90%). 1 Associated symptoms vary accord - ing to the site of involvement, as well as the size and depth of infiltration into the bowel wall. Symptoms usually include abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, fecal tenesmus, painful defecation, alternating constipation and diarrhea, and rectal bleeding. 2 Transvaginal ultrasound, CT scanning, MRI, and PET scanning are required to confirm diagnosis. 3 Sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy have limited value in the diagnosis of intes- tinal endometriosis, since it is rare for lesions to infiltrate the mucosa. 1 It is important, however, to exclude the presence of colorectal cancer and to assess any bowel stenosis. In the current case, we misdiagnosed intestinal endo - metriosis as colorectal cancer prior to surgery, based on the presence of hematochezia, and on sigmoidoscopic and radiologic findings, which were suggestive of invasive rectal malignancy. Moreover, sigmoidoscopic biopsies were in - conclusive. A definitive diagnosis could only be made on the basis of pathologic analysis of surgical specimens. In women of reproductive age, therefore, clinical suspicion of bowel en- dometriosis is important in cases where an intestinal mass is detected with bleeding or intestinal obstruction. REFERENCES 1. Remorgida V , Ferrero S, Fulcheri E, Ragni N, Martin DC. Bowel endometriosis: presentation, diagnosis, and treatment. Obstet Gynecol Surv 2007;62:461-470. 2. Shaw A, Lund JN, Semeraro D, Cartmill M, Reynolds JR, Tierney GM. Large bowel obstruction and perforation secondary to endometriosis complicated by a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Colorectal Dis 2008;10:520-521. 3. Kim JS, Hur H, Min BS, et al. Intestinal endometriosis mimick - ing carcinoma of rectum and sigmoid colon: a report of five cases. Yonsei Med J 2009;50:732-735. GFE