Umbilical metastasis derived from early stage rectal cancer: a case report.
BACKGROUND
Umbilical metastasis, also called Sister Mary Joseph's nodule (SMJN), is defined as the umbilical nodule associated with advanced metastatic intra-abdominal and pelvic malignancies. A patient with umbilical metastasis has been deemed to have a poor prognosis. Rectal cancer presenting with a SMJN is a rare phenomenon, especially in the early stage and in middle-low rectal cancer.


METHODS
We report a case of a 70-year-old male presenting with umbilical metastasis derived from rectal cancer (10 cm from the anal verge, T2N0).


CONCLUSIONS
For rectal cancer with umbilical metastasis, the exact metastatic routes as well as the criterion of diagnosis and treatments are not very clear. Here we review the literature on rectal cancer and SMJN to deepen the understanding of this disease.
Zhigang
Z
Zhang
Jianwei
J
Wang
Department of Oncology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China. drhuangjian@zju.edu.cn.
Jian
J
Huang
Xiuyan
X
Yu
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D058288:Sister Mary Joseph's Nodule / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed