Disseminated Carcinomatosis of Bone Marrow from Submucosal Carcinoma in Adenoma of the Rectum

A 62-year-old man was admitted because of paresis of the legs and a bleeding tendency. He was diagnosed as metastatic bone cancer with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). In spite of treatment, his general condition progressively deteriorated and he died of respiratory failure 13 days later. Autopsy revealed a carcinoma in adenoma in the rectum. Although the depth of cancer invasion was confined to the submucosal layer, disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow and tumor emboli in blood vessels of the lung were present. (Internal Medicine 31 : 1056-1059, 1992)