[Ulcerative colitis complicated by early carcinoma of the rectum and cholecystolithiasis]

Reported is a case of a 73-year-old male with a history of ulcerative colitis that had started at the age of 57. In 1985, on receiving a barium enema, a polypoid lesion was found in his rectum. In 1986, the results of a colonoscopy showed that the polypoid lesion had reached an IIa-aggregated elevation, and biopsies of this lesion were diagnosed as an adenoma or a hyperplastic polyp. A year later, in 1987, another biopsy specimen was taken and was histologically diagnosed as being an adenomatous cancer. Thus, a pull-through operation and a cholecystectomy were performed. The lesion was 4.5 x 3.0 cm in diameter, and the histological findings showed it to be a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma with a submucosal invasion. Accordingly, physicians should be advised that patients with a longstanding ulcerative colitis ought to undergo periodic examination that includes a colonoscopy and a biopsy of any suspicious growth.