[Adenocarcinoma of the umbilicus]

Most of the umbilical neoplastic processes are metastatic whereas primary adenocarcinoma is scarce and hard to distinguish from a secondary process. Our observation illustrates this difficulty.

A fifty year-old woman had developed chronic omphalitis over several years. She consulted for a multinodular, erythemato-violine, oozing and deep infiltrating tumor of the umbilicus which had been developing for two months. The anatomopathological exploration of a biopsy of the lesion suggested a clearly differentiated adenocarcinoma whose digestive origin was the most likely. Investigations for a primary neoplasm were negative. Polychemotherapy was efficient with eight months recline.

Umbilical metastases are referred to as Sister Marie Joseph nodule. They essentially correspond to a metastatic localization of an intra abdominal adenocarcinoma. The major problem consists in distinguishing a Sister Marie Joseph nodule where the neoplasm remains indefinite from an adenocarcinoma developed from an embryonic remainder. The existence in our patient's case history of a chronic omphalitis developing for Years and the negative tests for a primary neoplasm suggest a primary adenocarcinoma of the umbilicus.