Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Sigmoid Colon with Liver Metastases: A Case Report

Abstract

A 72-year-old male patient presented with constipation and bowel distention. Enhanced-contrasted abdominal CT revealed a mass in the sigmoid colon, with multiple liver metastases. Colonoscopy was withheld because of bowel obstruction. We made a tentative diagnosis of sigmoid colon cancer and multiple liver metastases and performed a colostomy. Intraoperative colonoscopy was performed, which confirmed a tumor in the sigmoid colon; biopsy of the tumor revealed the diagnosis of neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC). Based on the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms, we started the patient on chemotherapy with cisplatin and irinotecan. Despite five courses of therapy, the patient’s condition worsened and he died on day 220 after the first visit. NEC of the colon, which carries a poor prognosis, is rare; no treatment guidelines for NEC of the colon have been published and patients usually receive multidisciplinary treatment. We report a case of primary NEC of the sigmoid colon with multiple liver metastases.