Adenosquamous carcinoma of the rectum showing endocrine-cell differentiation: report of a case.

Abstract

Previous records of adenosquamous carcinomas with endocrinologic features rarely have been reported. Although the disease behaves in an extremely aggressive manner, chemotherapy after surgery has never been proposed. We used regional chemotherapy for treatment of unresectable liver metastases. Hartmann colostomy was performed and 5-fluorouracil was infused into the hepatic artery for 15 weeks after the operation. Multiple liver metastases were present at the initial operation. Three months after the start of the chemotherapy, computed tomography showed that metastatic tumors in the liver had disappeared. The patient survived 18 months after the initial operation. This case report describes the first successful treatment with adjuvant regional chemotherapy of a patient who had an adenosquamous carcinoma with endocrine-cell differentiation in the rectum and liver metastases.