CT of patients with right-sided colon cancer and distal ileal thickening.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence and primary causes of distal ileal wall thickening in 131 patients with right-sided colon cancer.


METHODS
During a 2-year period, 131 patients underwent surgical resection for right-sided colon cancer. Of these patients, we analyzed 13 who had distal ileal wall thickening on CT before surgery and also had the cause determined at pathology. CT findings were analyzed with regard to the morphologic features of colonic tumors, bowel wall involvement patterns of the distal ileum, and changes in the pericolic space.


RESULTS
Distal ileal wall thickening occurred in 13 (10%) of the 131 patients who had right-sided colon cancer. Three patients had polypoid colon cancer, whereas the other 10 had infiltrative colon cancer. The mean thickness of the involved colonic segments was 1.6 cm (range, 1.0-2.2 cm) with a mean length of 5.2 cm (range, 2.5-10.0 cm). Pericolic infiltration was mild in six patients and moderate in four patients. The mean length and thickness of the affected ileal segments were 3.2 cm (range, 1.5-6.0 cm) and 1.1 cm (range, 0.7-2.0 cm), respectively. On histopathologic examination, neoplastic processes involved the distal ileum in nine (69%) of the 13 patients. This involvement was caused by either direct tumor invasion in seven patients or lymphatic spread in two. In four patients (31%), nonneoplastic processes with edema and congestion involved the distal ileum.


CONCLUSIONS
The distal ileum may be abnormally thickened in about 10% of patients with right-sided colon cancer; this thickening results from tumor extension (69%) or a nontumorous process (31%).
Kim
A Y
AY
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 388-1, Poongnap-Dong, Songpa-Ku, Seoul, 138-736, Korea.
Ha
H K
HK
Seo
B K
BK
You
E S
ES
Cho
K S
KS
Kim
P N
PN
Lee
M G
MG
Jeong
H Y
HY
Yang
S K
SK
Min
Y I
YI
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003082:Colectomy; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003111:Colonic Polyps / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004487:Edema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007077:Ileal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D007078:Ileal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D015994:Incidence; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed