[Primary malignant tumors of the vermiform appendix: clinico-pathologic study of 8 cases]

In Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, 8 cases of primary tumors were encountered among 895 operated vermiform appendices: Five were colonic type adenocarcinomata and occurred above 40 years of age and three were carcinoids all in persons aged 25 or less. The diagnosis of appendical adenocarcinoma is almost never realized preoperatively. The importance of frozen sections in all suspicious cases is stressed since right hemicolectomy is the treatment of choice in cases of adenocarcinoma of the appendix. When malignant lesion goes unrecognized at initial operation, secondary hemicolectomy may be justified if histology shows invasion beyond the submucosa, at the line of ressection, or in lymph nodes. However, since the tumors is restricted to the mucosa, the patient must be followed with periodical radiology and endoscopy. In carcinoids limited to the appendix appendectomy is the treatment of choice.