What Is Appendiceal Cancer?

Transcript

Some patients may have what’s actually called appendiceal cancer. The appendix is actually a small pinky sized structure that comes off the right colon off what we call your cecum. This is much smaller in caliber than the remaining colon. So tumors that involve the appendix often outgrow the lumen very quickly and can actually obstruct the appendix.

Oftentimes patients with appendiceal cancer will actually present as what we call appendicitis, and sometimes will have surgery upfront for what a surgeon may think is appendicitis. We’ll then get the pathology after the fact. The next steps will really be determined on what was seen at the time of your initial surgery and what the pathologist sees under a microscope.

Appendiceal cancer is sometimes different than our traditional colon cancers. It may not necessarily be what we consider adenocarcinoma. Sometimes we’ll see neuroendocrine tumors in the appendix, which behave differently than adenocarcinoma. A patient with neuroendocrine tumor may actually have a better prognosis than a patient with adenocarcinoma.

Key Takeaways

1. Some patients may have appendiceal cancer, not colorectal cancer.

2. The appendix is actually a small pinky sized structure that comes off the right colon off of your cecum – much smaller than the remaining colon.

3. Tumors that involve the appendix often outgrow the lumen very quickly and can actually obstruct the appendix.

4. Oftentimes patients with appendiceal cancer will actually present as appendicitis, and sometimes will have surgery upfront for what a surgeon may think is appendicitis.

5. Sometimes we’ll see neuroendocrine tumors in the appendix, which may actually have a better prognosis than a patient with adenocarcinoma.