Epithelioid hemangioma of the colon: a case report

Abstract

CONTEXT: Epithelioid hemangioma or angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia is an uncommon benign vascular neoplasm that is usually located on the face or neck. Exceptionally, it has been described affecting the colon, with only two such cases described in the worldwide literature. The aim here was to present a case of primary epithelioid hemangioma of the sigmoid colon with confirmation by immunohistochemical examination. CASE REPORT: A 37-year-old woman had had a complaint of intermittent abdominal pain for six months. Two months after the condition started, she began to present changes in her intestinal habit, with evacuations containing blood and mucus and a weight loss of 4 kg over this period. At physical examination, a palpable mass was noted in the lower left quadrant of the abdomen. Neoplasia of the colon was clinically suspected and she underwent colonoscopy. This demonstrated the presence of a vegetating sessile lesion of approximately 5 cm in diameter, at a distance of 36 cm from the anal margin. It occupied 80% of the intestinal lumen. A biopsy collected during the examination suggested a diagnosis of neoplasia of vascular origin. After surgical resection, histopathological examination of the resected specimen confirmed the diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioma of the colon, which was backed up by the immunohistochemical panel (factor VIII, Ki-67, CD-34). At present, three years after the surgery, the patient is asymptomatic, she has recovered her normal weight and she has normal findings from control colonoscopy. Despite the rarity of neoplasia of vascular origin, this possibility should be considered in the differential diagnosis for colorectal tumors.