S2538 Colonic Endometriosis Masquerading as a Colonic Mass Diagnosed With Endoscopic Ultrasound

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Endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration diagnosed colonic endometriosis mimicking a mass in a patient without a prior endometriosis diagnosis.

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This case report describes a 40-year-old female presenting with cyclic bowel symptoms and hematochezia, whose initial imaging suggested a sigmoid colon mass suspicious for malignancy. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration successfully identified the lesion as a submucosal endometrioma originating from the muscularis propria, avoiding the need for immediate surgical resection for diagnosis. The authors emphasize that EUS is a critical diagnostic tool for distinguishing colonic endometriosis from cancer when superficial biopsies are nondiagnostic due to the extra-mucosal location of the disease. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — specifically, it details the rare presentation of deep infiltrating endometriosis in the sigmoid colon mimicking a colonic tumor.

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Abstract

Introduction: Endometriosis is a well-known disorder, which most commonly affects women of reproductive age, whereby uterine tissue grows outside of the uterine cavity. Although rare, the most common extra-pelvic location for implantation is the GI tract, and more specifically, the rectum and sigmoid colon. Moreover, symptoms are misleading, and imaging can be mistaken for colon cancer. We present a rare presentation of a reproductive-aged female with a colonic mass due to an endometrioma, diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). Case Description/Methods: A 40 year-old female with past medical history of dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia presented to her primary care physicians office with complaints of change in bowel habits, left lower quadrant abdominal pain and hematochezia, worse during menstruation. She reported a five-year history of these symptoms, however, worse in the last few months. Labs were normal, Hb 13.5, stool returned occult positive. A colonoscopy was performed with restricted mobility, requiring a pediatric colonoscope to traverse past the sigmoid colon, with extrinsic compression at 20 cm proximal to the anal verge; no frank colon mass identified. A CT A/P was obtained demonstrating a 3.9 cm semi-annular mass-like thickening of the sigmoid colon with associated tubular narrowing of the lumen, suspicious for colon cancer. She subsequently underwent flexible sigmoidoscopy, which again, showed extrinsic compression with mild stenosis measuring 1 cm in length. Rectal EUS with FNA was performed, which revealed a 5 cm partially circumferential submucosal sigmoid mass, originating from the muscularis propria and invading the serosa; cytology revealed the diagnosis of endometriosis. Ultimately, the patient required a laparoscopic sigmoid colon resection as well as robotic total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingoophrectomy. Discussion: We present a unique case of radiographic diagnosis of a sigmoid colon mass, with endoscopic evaluation revealing a submucosal colonic endometrioma in a patient with no known history of endometriosis. Colonic endometriomas are typically located in the serosa and/or muscularis propria, making superficial biopsies nondiagnostic in the majority of cases. We highlight the importance of utilizing EUS with FNA in cases where endometriomas are suspected, as it provides a safe and noninvasive method to obtain tissue for diagnosis.
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Introduction

Endometriosis is a well-known disorder, which most commonly affects women of reproductive age, whereby uterine tissue grows outside of the uterine cavity. Although rare, the most common extra-pelvic location for implantation is the GI tract, and more specifically, the rectum and sigmoid colon. Moreover, symptoms are misleading, and imaging can be mistaken for colon cancer. We present a rare presentation of a reproductive-aged female with a colonic mass due to an endometrioma, diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). Case Description/Methods: A 40 year-old female with past medical history of dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia presented to her primary care physicians office with complaints of change in bowel habits, left lower quadrant abdominal pain and hematochezia, worse during menstruation. She reported a five-year history of these symptoms, however, worse in the last few months. Labs were normal, Hb 13.5, stool returned occult positive. A colonoscopy was performed with restricted mobility, requiring a pediatric colonoscope to traverse past the sigmoid colon, with extrinsic compression at 20 cm proximal to the anal verge; no frank colon mass identified. A CT A/P was obtained demonstrating a 3.9 cm semi-annular mass-like thickening of the sigmoid colon with associated tubular narrowing of the lumen, suspicious for colon cancer. She subsequently underwent flexible sigmoidoscopy, which again, showed extrinsic compression with mild stenosis measuring 1 cm in length. Rectal EUS with FNA was performed, which revealed a 5 cm partially circumferential submucosal sigmoid mass, originating from the muscularis propria and invading the serosa; cytology revealed the diagnosis of endometriosis. Ultimately, the patient required a laparoscopic sigmoid colon resection as well as robotic total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingoophrectomy.

Discussion

We present a unique case of radiographic diagnosis of a sigmoid colon mass, with endoscopic evaluation revealing a submucosal colonic endometrioma in a patient with no known history of endometriosis. Colonic endometriomas are typically located in the serosa and/or muscularis propria, making superficial biopsies nondiagnostic in the majority of cases. We highlight the importance of utilizing EUS with FNA in cases where endometriomas are suspected, as it provides a safe and noninvasive method to obtain tissue for diagnosis.

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endometriosisendometriomadysmenorrhea

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