Squamous cell carcinoma of rectum presenting in a man: a case report

Abstract

BackgroundPrimary squamous cell carcinomas of the colorectum are very uncommon. Until now, to the best of our knowledge, only 114 cases of squamous cell carcinoma in the colorectum exist in the reported literature. Here we report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the rectum in the ethnic Kashmiri population in northern India.Case PresentationThe case of a 60-year-old male patient (Asian) with a pure squamous cell carcinoma of the rectum is presented here. The patient underwent a curative surgery with concomitant chemotherapy. Two years after the initial curative resection of the tumor he is still alive.ConclusionThe prognosis for squamous cell carcinoma of the colorectum is worse than for that of adenocarcinoma, because of the delayed diagnosis. The etiopathogenicity of squamous cell carcinoma of the colorectum is discussed. Surgical resection of the lesion seems to be the treatment of choice. Chemotherapy also helps in improvement of the prognosis.

p63-expressing cells are the stem cells of developing prostate, bladder, and colorectal epithelia

“…Future studies might prove that lack of ΔNp63 expression in the endoderm is not only sufficient but also necessary for intestinal cell differentiation. Last, expression of ΔNp63 in early colorectal progenitors also provides developmental insight into the cell of origin of squamous cell metaplasia and squamous cell carcinoma, rare but distinct disease entities of colorectal epithelium (39)(40)(41). Because p63 is a master regulator of stratified epithelial development (42), either persistence of ΔNp63-positive progenitor cells or regression to a primitive, ΔNp63-positive state may reflect the colorectal epithelium's latent potential to recall its developmental origins and differentiate aberrantly into the squamous cell lineage.…”

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Sigmoid Colon Presenting With Severe Hypercalcemia

“…[2][3][4] In 2010, Sameer et al 3 identified 114 cases in the worldwide literature. The most common location of SCC is the rectum, followed by the right colon 2-4 ; Miyamoto et al 5 reported that up to 65% of these tumors occur in the rectosigmoid colon.…”

“…7 The most common presenting symptoms of these patients are rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits, and weight loss. [2][3][4]8 Hypercalcemia is an uncommon occurrence in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies and is rarely part of the initial clinical presentation. 9,10 To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient with metastatic SCC of the colon presenting with severe, symptomatic hypercalcemia.…”

“…4,5,8 Other coexisting conditions associated with SCC of the colorectum include colonic duplication 15 and the presence of malignancies, such as ovarian, prostate, endometrial, and breast cancer. 2,3 Patients with second malignancies may have a genetic predisposition for tumor formation, but information on this possibility is not available in patients with colorectal SCC. The present patient did not have any inflammatory bowel disease or a second malignancy.…”

“…1 Primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the colorectum is a rare malignancy, with an incidence of fewer than 1 in 1000 diagnosed colorectal cancers. [2][3][4] This report presents a 53-year-old man who presented with severe hypercalcemia secondary to metastatic SCC of the sigmoid colon.…”