Published online Apr 14, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i14.3879
Peer-review started: August 27, 2015
First decision: September 29, 2015
Revised: October 14, 2015
Accepted: December 30, 2015
Article in press: December 30, 2015
Published online: April 14, 2016
Rarely has a solitary, metachronous bilateral adrenal metastasis of colorectal cancer been reported. We depict a 41-year-old man who underwent sigmoid colon cancer radical surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy for a locally ulcerative sigmoid adenocarcinoma with metachronous bilateral adrenal metastasis revealed by a computed tomography scan. Histopathological examination showed adenocarcinoma, compatible with metastasis from the rectal cancer. The level of serum carcinoembryonic antigen had indicative significance for the presence of adrenal metastasis in the reported series. We performed a literature analysis related to this pathological characteristic and attach importance to consistent, vigilant radiological surveillance of the adrenal glands in the patients’ follow up for colorectal cancer with or without subsequent adrenal metastasis.
Core tip: Very rarely are patients with a solitary adrenal metastasis from colorectal cancer, especially coupled with metachronous contralateral adrenal metastasis, identified. The case report not only covers a rare case of metachronous bilateral isolated adrenal metastasis from colorectal adenocarcinoma but also summarizes and discusses relevant mechanisms and therapies of this type of disease reported previously in the literature.