A case of rectal metastatic tumor in the soft tissue of the hand

Hand metastases occur infrequently, and metastatic tumors in the soft tissue of the hand caused by rectal cancer are extremely rare. We report a case here. The patient was a 76-year old man. He underwent Miles operation for rectal cancer located in the lower portion of the rectum. Histopathologically, the resected specimen showed well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Six years postoperatively, a tumor involving the soft tissue of the palma was found in his left hand. The tumor was resected, and pathological examination showed a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma similar to the primary rectal carcinoma. Immunohistochemical examination demonstrated that this hand tumor had metastasized from rectal cancer. Fifteen cases of colorectal metastatic tumors in the hand have been documented, of which three were soft-tissue metastases. This report describes the fourth case.