Carcinoma of the colon in children with metastases to the duodenum: Report of two cases and management reflections

Gastrointestinal and colonic malignancies in children are rarely documented and almost always are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease with poor prognosis and outcomes. Due to rarity and paucity of data on these tumors and low index of suspicion among clinicians, these tumors are usually diagnosed at an advance stage. Therefore, the objective of this report is to present an eight-year-old male child with mucinous adenocarcinoma of recto-sigmoid colon with metastasis to the duodenum, liver, retro-peritoneal spaces and the anterior abdominal wall and sixteen-year-old female patient with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the transverse colon with metastasis to the duodenum, omentum, mesentery, small intestine, visceral and parietal peritonea (carcinomatosis). Both patients had Duke's stage D tumors. Both patients were operated on at children surgical unit of Murtala Mohammad Specialist Hospital, Kano in northern Nigeria. Diagnosis, surgical management and outcomes are discussed. Review of selected literature and management reflections of this rare fatal lesion in children are presented.