[An autopsy case of Cronkhite-Canada syndrome developing after hemicolectomy for colonic cancer]

This is the patient previously reported as Cronkhite-Canada syndrome developing after left hemicolectomy for cancer of the descending colon. Ultimately, he died at the age of 62 of metastatic colonic cancer 8 years after the onset of the syndrome. In this paper, the findings of autopsy as well as the follow-up examination including the right hemicolectomy are presented, with particular emphasis on the histology of the polyps. The polyps of the stomach and colon were composed of cysticalydilated glands with inflamed and edematous stroma. In addition, most of the colonic polyps showed adenomatous foci at the surface, one of them being associated with focal severe atypia. This case supports the possibility of adenomatous to malignant transformation of the retention-type polyps, rather than the incidental occurrence of adenoma de novo in Cronkhite-Canada syndrome.