A Case of Pregnancy Associated with Colon Cancer.

Kim, Ji Hyang; Kwon, So Young; Lee, Kyoung Jin; Jang, Jin Beum; Lee, Hwa Young; Lee, Myung Ah; Hahn, Won Bo

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2004;47(4):763-767.
Published online April 1, 2004.

A Case of Pregnancy Associated with Colon Cancer.

Ji Hyang Kim, So Young Kwon, Kyoung Jin Lee, Jin Beum Jang, Hwa Young Lee, Myung Ah Lee, Won Bo Hahn

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Pocheon CHA University, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Pocheon CHA University, Seoul, Korea.
³Department of Hematooncology, Kangnam St. Mary' Hspital, The Catholic University of Korea, Korea.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer developed during pregnancy is extremely rare condition associated with a poor prognosis. Pregnant women usually present with more advanced stage at diagnosis than their non-pregnant counterparts. There are several possible reasons for this disparity as follows. The first one is delay in making the diagnosis due to similarity between the early symptoms of colon cancer and the gastrointestinal complains of pregnancy, the second is proliferation and decreased apoptosis of tumor cells due to the effects of various cytokines and hormonal environmental stimuli related to the state of pregnancy, and the third is an increased opportunity for tumor spread due to the immunosuppressed state of pregnancy and increased perfusion of all the organs. Thus, it is important not to underestimate the patient's symptoms because the early diagnosis is essential for better prognosis. We report a 27-year-old primigravida with advanced stage adenocarcinoma of the left colon diagnosed after cesarean delivery with a brief review of literature.

Key Words: Pregnancy, Colon cancer