Splenic abscess associated with colon cancer: a case report.

Abstract

The present report describes a case of colon cancer which presented with a rare complication of splenic abscess. A 52-year-old Japanese man with diarrhea, fever and chills was admitted to our hospital. He complained of fever, with chills at night, and abdominal pain occurring during the last month. The origin of the fever was investigated, and Escherichia coli grew from a blood culture. Multilocular splenic abscesses and wall thickening of the descending colon were revealed by CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound. A cancer of the descending colon was found by barium enema and colonoscopy. A curative resection was performed and the pathological report revealed the splenic abscess to have developed from a direct extension of, and perforation by, the carcinoma of the descending colon.