Abstract
A 70-year-old man had undergone a low anterior resection with a D2 lymphadenectomy for rectal cancer. One year after the operation, his serum CEA level increased to 11.3 ng/ml. A liver recurrence originating from rectal cancer was diagnosed and a resection of the posterior part of the liver was scheduled because the systemic computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a 30-mm low density area in the S7 of the liver. During the operation, a tumor on the right diaphragm and normal liver tissue was found. Thus, a solitary diaphragmatic metastasis originating from rectal cancer was diagnosed and we performed a partial resection of the right diaphragm. The resected specimen of the diaphragm revealed the same histological findings as the rectum specimen. On literature review, only eight reports of colorectal metastatic tumors involving the diaphragm were found.
