Unusual sized cecal mass presenting without obstruction: a case report

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and lethal disease with thousands of new cases of large bowel cancer diagnosed in the United States each year. Colorectal cancer frequently causes obstruction of the large bowel. Cases of obstructions and perforations have been documented with masses well below 6 cm in diameter. Obstruction and/or perforation are important predictors of prognosis with respect to colorectal carcinomas. CASE PRESENTATION The following is the presentation of an unusual case of a 13 x 12 x 16 cm colonic adenocarcinoma without any signs of obstruction or perforation. CONCLUSION Perioperative mortality rates for colorectal cancer with obstruction have been documented anywhere from 5% to 47.6%, making obstruction an important predictive factor in long-term patient survival. Although a correlation between obstruction and patient outcome has been determined, a correlation between colorectal tumor size/staging and obstruction has yet to be investigated.