[Malignant small bowel ileus due to recurrent colorectal cancer with peritoneal metastasis]

To investigate the clinical findings of patients who underwent surgery for small bowel obstruction following a previous operation for colorectal cancer. We assessed consecutive patients operated on for peritoneal metastasis with small bowel ileus.

We evaluated the clinical characteristics of 7 consecutive patients with malignant small bowel ileus due to recurrent colorectal cancer with peritoneal metastasis.

1) Primary cancer location: descending colon, 2 cases (28.6%); sigmoid colon, 1 case (14.3%); and rectum, 4 cases (57.1%). 2) Peritoneal dissemination grade: P2, 1 case (14.3%); and P3, 6 cases (85.7%). 3) Liver metastasis grade: H1, 1 case (14.3%); H2, 5 cases (71.4%); and H3, 1 case (14.3%). 4) Lymph node metastasis grade: N2, 1 case (14.3%); and N3, 6 cases (85.7%). 5) Extra-abdominal metastasis: multiple lung metastases were detected in 3 cases (42.9%). 6) Pathological type: moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma (tub2), 3 cases (42.3%); poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (por), 1 case (14.3%); and mucinous adenocarcinoma (muc), 3 cases (42.3%). The differentiated type (tub2) was more common than the undifferentiated types(por and muc). 7) Malignant small bowel stenosis and/or obstruction: there were 3 or more cases with stenosis and/or obstruction in jejunum and ileum. 8) OPERATIVE PROCEDURE: gastrostomy was performed in 2 cases (28.6%); nephrostomy was performed in 1 case (14.3%); gastrostomy with nephrostomy was performed in 1 case (14.3%); and probe laparotomy was performed in 3 cases (42.9%). 9) Survival time of patients with recurrent colorectal cancer, from readmission to death: 0.5-1 month, 3 cases (42.9%); 1-1.5 months, 3 cases (42.9%); and 1.5-3 months, 1 case (14.3%). All patients died in less than 3 months.

The prognosis of the malignant small bowel ileus due to recurrent colorectal cancer with peritoneal metastasis is very bad.