Case Report
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World J Gastrointest Oncol. Nov 15, 2010; 2(11): 417-420
Published online Nov 15, 2010. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v2.i11.417
Cecal vanishing tumor associated with cytomegalovirus infection in an immunocompetent elderly adult
Shinsuke Kawasaki, Satoshi Osawa, Ken Sugimoto, Takahiro Uotani, Masafumi Nishino, Takanori Yamada, Mitsushige Sugimoto, Takahisa Furuta, Mutsuhiro Ikuma
Shinsuke Kawasaki, Satoshi Osawa, Ken Sugimoto, Takahiro Uotani, Masafumi Nishino, Takanori Yamada, Mutsuhiro Ikuma, First Department of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan
Mitsushige Sugimoto, Takahisa Furuta, Center for Clinical Research, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan
Author contributions: Kawasaki S and Osawa S wrote the manuscript; Sugimoto K, Furuta T and Ikuma M contributed to the paper design and coordination; Uotani T, Nishino M, Yamada T and Sugimoto M contributed in performing the endoscopic examination and follow-up; all the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to: Satoshi Osawa, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, First Department of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan. sososawa@hama-med.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-53-4352261 Fax: +81-53-4349447
Received: July 1, 2010
Revised: September 14, 2010
Accepted: September 21, 2010
Published online: November 15, 2010
Abstract

Gastrointestinal involvement in cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is well documented among immunocompromised patients and is also observed in immunocompetent individuals. The presentation of this infection can sometimes mimic those of other diseases, thus making accurate diagnosis difficult. We herein report a rare case of an immunocompetent elderly adult with gastrointestinal CMV infection that presented as a vanishing tumor at the cecum. A 76-year old man initially presented with lower abdominal pain. Colonoscopy revealed a tumorous lesion with irregular ulceration observed at the ileocecal valve. Histological findings of a biopsy specimen revealed intranuclear inclusions which were positive for CMV on immunohistochemical staining. However, this tumorous lesion disappeared within 7 wk from the initial hospital visit without any further treatment. Inflammatory pseudotumors associated with CMV infection should be considered as a differential diagnosis of tumorous lesions in the colon, even in immunocompetent adults.

Keywords: Cytomegalovirus colitis, Vanishing tumor, Elderly adult, Inflammatory pseudotumor, Immunocompetent host