Colonic mucinous adenocarcinoma in a pregnant woman presented as pseudo Sister Mary Joseph's nodule: A case report

We report a case of a 41-year-old pregnant woman who initially presented with a sub-umbilical lump, for nearly five months. Subsequently, an ultrasound study was performed, and the patient underwent a surgical drainage operation for a presumed inflammatory condition, at the periumbilical region. The patient returned after a week post-drainage with a faecal discharging fistula. One month later, the patient had an emergency lower caesarean section plus bilateral tubal ligation because of the transverse lie of the foetus. Onemonth post-operative caesarean section, the fistula opening showed a big protruding ulcerating mass. En-bloc resection of the transverse and the descending colon was performed, and the histopathologic diagnosis showed a moderately differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma. This case highlights that a high index of suspicion was recommended in an unresolved periumbilical lump (pseudo Sister Mary Joseph's nodule), and periumbilical metastasis of colorectal cancer frequently indicates advanced disease and poor prognosis. In view of its rarity of occurrence and limited experience, in the management of an ambiguous case, we report this case.