A Case of Ileocecal Intussusception due to Burkitt Lymphoma in an Adult

Abstract

A 22-year-old man visited the emergency clinic in our hospital because of exacerbation of upper abdominal pain and nausea lasting for about 1.5 months. On palpation a tumor with the size of an infant's head was felt at the right lower quadrant of abdomen. Abdominal ultrasonography and abdominal CT scan showed a tumor and intestinal obstruction from the ascending colon to the ileocecal region. The patient was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of intestinal obstruction due to the tumor and was operated on. At surgery we identified an intussusception at the ileocecal region in which the ileum was invaginated into the cecum. The tumor which had led the intestinal obstruction was palpated and the ileocecal lymph nodes had swollen. Accordingly right hemicolectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. The histopathological diagnosis of the resected material was Burkitt lymphoma. After the operation the patient was transferred to the department of hematological medicine to receive internal treatment including chemotherapy, however, he died eleven months after the initial diagnosis.
Adult cases of Burkitt lymphoma are uncommon, especially those associated with an intussusception of the intestine. The disease progresses extremely rapidly and carries poor prognosis, so that early intensive care including surgery and chemotherapy is important.