CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Colorectal Cancer
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1563632
Isolated metachronous splenic metastasis after rectal cancer surgery: A case report and literature review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Cancer Hospital Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
- 2Department of Colorectal Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- 3Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- 4Department of Pancreatic & Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- 5Department of Gastrointestinal surgery, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
- 6Department of Pancreatic & Gastric Surgery, Cancer Hospital Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
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Background: The occurrence of isolated splenic metastasis in association with colorectal cancer is exceedingly rare. This paper presents a case of isolated splenic metastasis identified one year after radical resection of rectal cancer. The patient underwent laparoscopic splenectomy, achieving favorable therapeutic outcomes. Furthermore, we conduct a literature review of analogous cases and examine the clinical diagnosis and therapeutic approaches for this uncommon condition. Case Review: A 76-year-old male patient underwent laparoscopic radical resection for rectal cancer, accompanied by ileostomy, at our institution. Postoperatively, the patient received two cycles of XELOX chemotherapy but continued with oral capecitabine for six cycles due to oxaliplatin intolerance. Follow-up enhanced CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis revealed an isolated metastatic tumor in the spleen. Subsequently, the patient underwent laparoscopic splenectomy. Histopathological examination postsurgery confirmed the metastasis of rectal cancer to the spleen. Conclusion: Isolated splenic metastasis originating from colorectal cancer is exceedingly rare, and laparoscopic splenectomy constitutes an effective treatment strategy.
Keywords: colorectal cancer, Isolated splenic metastasis, Metachronous, Laparoscopic splenectomy, literature review
Received: 20 Jan 2025; Accepted: 17 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ren, Shi, Zhang, Sun, Ye, Liu, Wang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yinggang Chen, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Cancer Hospital Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
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