Squamous cell carcinoma of the colon in an asbestos worker

Our plain-English summary of Squamous cell carcinoma of the colon in an asbestos worker, by P.B. Goodfellow, S.R. Brown, K.B. Hosie, et al (European Journal of Surgical Oncology, 1999).

The study

• Authors: P.B. Goodfellow, S.R. Brown, K.B. Hosie, K. Feeley
• Journal: European Journal of Surgical Oncology
• Published: 1999;25(6):632-3
• Type of article: Case report, Review
• Cited by: 5 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the colon in an asbestos worker. We speculate whether the asbestos exposure could have been causative and review the literature.

Copyright 1999 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

In plain English

This case report from Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, UK, described one 66-year-old man with squamous cell carcinoma of the colon at the hepatic flexure. He was known to have pleural plaques caused by asbestos exposure, and he was also a smoker. He first saw doctors for a flare-up of chronic obstructive airways disease and had lost four stones over 6 months. Tests found iron deficiency anaemia and a bowel mass, which was removed by right hemicolectomy. The tumour was stuck to the liver and duodenum. Tissue examination showed squamous cell carcinoma of the colon that had spread to the liver. Extensive tests for a cancer starting elsewhere were negative. After discussion at a multidisciplinary meeting, no adjuvant therapy (additional treatment after surgery) had been given. The article described him as an asbestos worker but gave no more specific job or type of asbestos. The authors noted that fewer than 100 primary squamous cell carcinomas of the colon and rectum have been described, which makes their epidemiology difficult to assess. They speculated that asbestos exposure may have contributed to this man's cancer.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (single patient), with a brief discussion of the literature
• Who was studied: One 66-year-old man, described as an asbestos worker, seen at Northern General Hospital NHS Trust, Sheffield, UK; dates not given
• Exposure: Asbestos exposure in a man described as an asbestos worker, with known pleural plaques secondary to asbestos exposure. No more specific occupation, fiber type or dose was described. The patient was also a smoker.
• Main results:
  • The patient had lost four stones in weight over the previous 6 months
  • The patient had iron deficiency anaemia with haemoglobin 8.6 g/dl
  • Colonoscopy found a polypoid lesion at the hepatic flexure
  • The patient underwent laparotomy and right hemicolectomy
  • Histology showed squamous cell carcinoma of the colon with spread to the liver
  • Extensive tests for a primary cancer outside the colon were negative
  • After multidisciplinary discussion, no adjuvant therapy had been given at the time of the report
  • The patient was also a smoker
  • The authors noted that fewer than 100 primary squamous cell carcinomas of the colon and rectum have been described in the literature
• The authors' conclusion: The authors speculated that asbestos exposure may have contributed to the development of squamous cell carcinoma of the colon in this man.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Because so few such tumours (of the colon and rectum) are recorded, the authors said their epidemiology is difficult to assess

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Colon cancer.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Asbestos Exposure.

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