A rare case reveals prostatic metastasis in rectal cancer, highlighting diagnostic imaging's role in treatment decisions.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) most commonly metastasizes to the liver, lungs, peritoneum, and bones. Prostatic metastasis is exceptionally rare, with only a handful of cases reported worldwide. It typically arises in the context of advanced disease and widespread dissemination, often portending a poor prognosis. Early recognition of such atypical sites is essential for guiding therapy. 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) enables whole-body metabolic imaging and can detect hypermetabolic lesions in unexpected locations, but histo-pathological confirmation with immunohistochemistry remains indispensable for differentiating metastatic CRC from primary prostatic or bladder adenocarcinoma. We describe the rare case of a patient with a history of rectal moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma who developed lower uri-nary tract symptoms during the follow-up. 18 F-FDG PET/CT revealed a solitary hypermetabolic focus within the prostate. Subsequent biopsy with immunohistochemical profiling confirmedmetastatic rectal adenocarcinoma. The patient commenced systemic chemotherapy, achieving partial symptom relief and radiological disease stabilization at a 3-month follow-up, without new metastatic foci. This case highlights the diagnostic value of PET/CT and pathology correlation in identifying exceptionally rare metastatic presentations of CRC.
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Aboussabr et al. (2026) studied this question.
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