Case Report

Mucinous adenocarcinoma of the appendix presenting with atypical symptomatology and presence of pseudomyxoma peritonei: a case report

Konstantinos Alexiou¹ , Nikolaos Sikalias¹ , Maria Demonakou² , Sylvia-Christina Mylona¹ , Vasileios Triantafyllis¹ , Asimina Kalogirou² and Georgios Antsaklis¹

¹  Department of Surgery, "Sismanoglio" General Hospital of Athens, (Sismanogliou 1), Marousi - Athens (15126), Greece

²  Department of Anatomical Pathology, "Sismanoglio" General Hospital of Athens, (Sismanogliou 1), Marousi - Athens (15126), Greece

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Cases Journal 2009, 2:9089doi:10.1186/1757-1626-2-9089

Published:	25 November 2009

Abstract

Introduction

Primary tumors of the appendix are unusual and most of them are carcinoids. Their main presentation is that of an acute appendicitis or as a palpable mass, mainly in the right lower quadrant.

Case presentation

A female patient with mucous adenocarcinoma of the appendix, which primarily presented as atypical abdominal pain. Diagnosis of the disease was made after appendicectomy and histopathological analysis of the specimen. The patient finally underwent a complementary right hemicolectomy.

Conclusion

Mucin producing adenocarcinomas of the appendix are a category of rare cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Although at present they are a well studied pathologic entity, the crucial issue of their preoperative diagnosis remains unsolved.