Colorectal Cancer

A 74-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain, weight loss, fatigue, and change in bowel habits of 6 months’ duration. Her hemoglobin level was 7 g/dL; carcinoembryonic antigen, 672 ng/dL.

A 78-year-old man with a history of asthma, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and recently diagnosed prostate cancer was admitted to the medical ICU with exacerbation of COPD. The obtunded patient was unable to provide a history. A 4 × 6-cm firm nodule of unknown duration was noted over the right upper quadrant of the patient’s abdomen. There were no other cutaneous lesions.

An 85-year-old man presented with intermittent abdominal pain of several years’ duration. Two years earlier, he underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy that was converted to an open procedure.

During surgical resection for colon cancer, an 8.5-cm diverticulum was found incidentally in a 70-year-old man. The lesion arose from the antimesenteric surface of the terminal ileum; it was located about 2 ft proximal to the ileocecal junction. Palpation of the diverticulum revealed a hard mass at its tip and a thickened wall at its base.

An otherwise healthy 38-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with a 1-day history of generalized left-sided weakness. She had no other significant medical history and was taking no medications. The patient was overweight.

In a 65-year-old man with a family history of colorectal carcinoma, an initial screening coloscopic examination revealed 2 arteriovenous malformations. These delicate red lesions with a vascular network and irregular edges were found in the cecum.

A 62-year-old woman presented with a rash and intermittent pain of the right upper quadrant. The reticular, brown hyperpigmentation was also seen on her right flank and around the umbilicus. The patient reported that she often applied heating pads to these areas for pain relief.

A 65-year-old woman with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon was undergoing chemotherapy following a colectomy and a hepatic wedge resection. The physical examination and laboratory data were unremarkable.