Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2022; 14(7): 696-705
Published online Jul 27, 2022. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v14.i7.696
Skeletal muscle metastasis from colorectal adenocarcinoma: A literature review
Nikhil Kulkarni, Ahmed Khalil, Shruti Bodapati
Nikhil Kulkarni, Ahmed Khalil, Department of General and Colorectal Surgery, Lincoln County Hospital, Lincoln LN5 2QY, United Kingdom
Shruti Bodapati, Department of General Surgery, Plymouth University Hospitals, Plymouth PL6 8DH, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Kulkarni N conceptualized and designed the review; Khalil A and Bodapati S performed the initial literature review; all authors analysed the data; Kulkarni N and Khalil A wrote the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Nikhil Kulkarni, MS, MCh, FRCS, Consultant Surgeon, Department of General and Colorectal Surgery, Lincoln County Hospital, Greetwell Road, Lincoln LN5 2QY, United Kingdom. dr_nvk@yahoo.com
Received: April 15, 2022
Peer-review started: April 15, 2022
First decision: May 12, 2022
Revised: May 26, 2022
Accepted: June 22, 2022
Article in press: June 22, 2022
Published online: July 27, 2022
Processing time: 102 Days and 14.9 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Skeletal muscle metastasis (SMM) is a rare complication of colorectal adenocarcinomas. The study was conducted to explore, in more detail, the present literature of this unusual finding.

Research motivation

The study encompassed a thorough review of the present literature on SMM due to colorectal adenocarcinoma. Our goal was to highlight the significance of this type of metastasis and increase awareness for early diagnosis and detection.

Research objectives

The aim of this study was to review the literature for cases of SMM from colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Research methods

A systematic literature search was carried out in December 2021. The search strategy was standardized using the PRISMA guidelines.

Research results

SMM were most commonly detected in the thigh muscles. Most of the tumours originated from the rectum or the right colon. The mean time interval between the primary lesion and onset of SMM was 22 mo.

Research conclusions

Our review showed that SMM from colorectal adenocarcinomas is a rare complication. However, it is possible that the low incidence could be due to under-reporting. Early use of advanced imaging techniques, like fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography, and a high index of clinical suspicion might increase the reporting of SMM from colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Research perspectives

This study again highlights that there is a paucity of literature on SMM after colorectal adenocarcinoma. This is certainly a field that needs more research in the future.