Transverse colon cancer occurring at a colostomy site 35 years after colostomy: a case report

An 89-year-old woman presented with a tumor occurring at a colostomy site. Thirty-five years previously, she had undergone a transverse loop colostomy for an iatrogenic colon perforation that occurred during left ureteral lithotomy. Upon physical examination, the patient had a hard nodule measuring 3 cm at the colostomy site. A biopsy of the nodule suggested adenocarcinoma, and the preoperative diagnosis was transverse colon cancer. A laparotomy was performed via a peristomal incision with 5-mm skin margins, and the tumor was covered by a surgical glove to avoid any tumor seeding. The colon was separated from the tumor by 5-cm margins, and the specimen was removed en bloc. An end colostomy was constructed to a new site on the right side of the abdomen. The deficit in the abdominal wall was repaired, and the skin was closed via a purse-string suture. The final diagnosis of the stoma tumor was transverse colon cancer (T2, N0, M0, stage I). One year and five months after surgery, there was no evidence of recurrence.