Background: It is very rare to suffer from colorectal adenocarcinoma and abdominal tuberculosis simultaneously. Even in a country such as China, where tuberculosis is still endemic, its diagnosis and treatment are challenging. This article describes in detail a case of rectal cancer complicated by abdominal tuberculosis and its pathological features.
Case summary: We outline the case of a 71-year-old female who was admitted with intermittent blood in the stool over the past year. The patient was diagnosed with low rectal cancer and received neoadjuvant therapy. The patient then returned to the hospital for surgery, but diffusely distributed nodules were found during laparoscopic exploration. The diagnosis of rectal cancer with extensive metastasis was considered during the operation. There was no opportunity for radical surgery. Thus, nodules were taken for pathological examination, and the abdomen was closed. The histopathological diagnosis was tuberculous granuloma, and the patient was treated with standardized anti-tuberculosis drugs in a specialized hospital. Later, the patient again came to our hospital and underwent abdominoperineal resection. She was discharged 10 d after the operation in good clinical condition.
Conclusion: We aim to emphasize the importance of preoperative and postoperative pathological examination in diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords: Abdominal tuberculosis; Case report; Extrapulmonary tuberculosis; Peritoneal nodules; Rectal cancer.
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