Isolated splenic metastasis from colon cancer. Report of a case

Isolated splenic metastasis is an uncommon event, except in the case of secondary involvement by lymphoma. The most common sites of metastases of colorectal cancer are the regional lymph nodes, liver and peritoneum; lung and bone are rarely involved, the spleen exceptionally. In this paper we report a case of metachronous isolated splenic metastasis of transverse colon cancer in an 80-year-old woman who was successfully treated by splenectomy. The peculiar clinical-pathological aspects of this kind of metastasis are discussed on the basis of our clinical observation and a review is presented of similar cases reported in the literature. Only 14 reported cases of isolated splenic metastasis from colorectal cancer were found in Medline.