Abstract
A 68-year-old woman presented to a local doctor with the chief complaint of weight loss in August 2011. She was referred to our hospital for detailed examination and treatment of a suspected liver tumor. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen revealed multiple masses in the liver, and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed sigmoid colon cancer. Tumor marker testing showed normal carcinoembryonic antigen (<0.5 ng/mL) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (10.9 U/mL) levels, but elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels to 123.3 ng/mL. The patient was diagnosed with multiple liver metastases concurrent with sigmoid colon cancer and underwent laparoscopic sigmoidectomy. After the operation, the AFP level decreased to 20.4 ng/mL. Mild immunostaining of AFP was found in the tumor, leading to a diagnosis of AFP-producing sigmoid colon cancer. Postoperatively, systemic chemotherapy was performed for the treatment of liver metastatic lesions. However, the patient died 7 months after surgery of extensive metastases. We report a rare case of AFP-producing sigmoid colon cancer with a review of the literature.
