Adenocarcinoma in the transposed colon: High grade active inflammation versus low grade chronic inflammation

Despite strong hereditary components, most cases of colorectal cancer are sporadic. The possibility to manipulate in the clinical setting the many presumed risk factors is almost impossible, and long-term epidemiological studies are the only reliable form for comparisons. We performed a systematic review to analyze the reports of de-novo adenocarcinoma arising in the transposed colon, used for conduit after esophagectomy, after total gastrectomy, and for vaginal reconstruction. In all these situations, the colon is transposed in different physiological conditions from its natural environment. We excluded patients in whom the colon was transposed as urinary conduit because the well known carcinogenic effect of the contact with urine. Overall 45 patients were identified with a de-novo adenocarcinoma arising in the transposed colon (36 after esophagectomy; 1 after total gastrectomy; 8 as neovagina). The only common risk factor in these different anatomic position was the possibility of active or chronic inflammation. There was not a close correlation between time after implantation and occurrence of the carcinoma. The occurrence of the de novo carcinoma was related to ageing, supporting the hypothesis of a major role of inflammation in facilitating deregulation of the immune system, associated with ageing.