A case of sigmoid colon tuberculosis mimicking colon cancer

Abstract

Tuberculosis of the sigmoid colon is a rare disorder. An 80-year-old man visited Bongseng Memorial Hospital for medical examination. A colonoscopy was performed, and a lesion in the sigmoid colon that was suspected to be colon cancer was found. A biopsy was performed, and tuberculous enteritis with chronic granulomatous inflammation was diagnosed. Intestinal tuberculosis is most frequent in the ileocecal area, followed by the ascending colon, transverse colon, duodenum, stomach, and sigmoid colon, in descending order. Hence, we report a case of intestinal tuberculosis in the sigmoid colon, which is rare and almost indistinguishable from colon cancer. © 2012 The Korean Society of Coloproctology.