Medullary Carcinoma of the Colon : A Case Study

Abstract

Medullary adenocarcinoma (MC) is a variant of colonic cancer,and it has morphological similarity to poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas. MC has been categorized as a rare variant of colorectal adenocarcinoma with leaves of malignant cells with vesicular nuclei, prominent nucleoli, and abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm. MC is a Colorectal Carcinom subtype that is most commonly seen in older females and is mostly localized in the right colon. However, there are rare cases in which it is localized in the left colon or in the rectum. he mean age of MC patients 69.3± 12.5 The tumors tended to present with a larger size. The differential diagnosis of MC includes poorly differentiated colorectal adenocarcinoma, neuroendocrine carcinoma and “lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma. The distinction between medullary carcinoma of the colon and the other malignancies is made via microscopy and special staining for markers. MC appears to be a distinctive clinicopathologic entity, with good prognosis and must be differentiated from other more aggressive, non-glandular tumors of the colon. Due to the rarity of the tumor, optimal treatment strategies including specific chemotherapy regimens have not been determined. Though rare, MC deserve special interest due to  the broad spectrum of differential diagnosis; their clinical course; their favorable prognosis. We report the case of a patient operated on for medullary carcinoma of the right colon.