When Cancer Pulls the Bowel In: Intussusception in a Young Adult Man

Adult intussusception is a rare cause of bowel obstruction. Unlike pediatric cases, which are common and usually idiopathic, adult intussusception accounts for approximately 5% of all cases and causes about 1% of bowel obstructions. It is almost always associated with a structural lead point, with malignancy accounting for up to 50% of cases. Clinical presentation is often nonspecific, leading to delayed diagnosis and increased morbidity. We present the case of a 28-year-old man with colocolonic intussusception caused by poorly differentiated invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the colon in the absence of family history or constitutional symptoms.