Atypical tumour-like involvement of the colon in secondary systemic amyloidosis which vanished after 1 month of observation.

Amyloidosis occurs as a result of the extracellular deposition of protein fibrils in organs and tissues, thus causing mild to severe pathophysiological changes. The gastrointestinal tract is a common site of amyloid deposition. While intestinal amyloidosis frequently results in polypoid lesions, ulcerations, nodules and petechial mucosal haemorrhage, tumour-like lesions are rarely developed and infrequently diagnosed before the resection because of the difficulty in differentiating them from colon cancer. The authors herein reported a case of intestinal amyloid A amyloidosis with a complication of a tumour-like lesion endoscopically resembling a malignant lesion, which was completely diminished after 1 month of observation with bowel rest. Such conservative treatment is a feasible option to cure intestinal tumour-like lesions in patients with intestinal amyloidosis when no neoplastic change is histologically detected, possibly decreasing the need for surgery of the fragile mucosa.

A case of small cell carcinoma of the oesophagus treated with endoscopic mucosal resection who remained in clinical remission for 18 months: its endoscopic features with specific light spectra.

Small cell carcinoma of the oesophagus (SCCE) is an infrequent tumour associated with a poor prognosis. We herein propose the first case of SCCE treated by endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and its endoscopic images with narrow band imaging (NBI) and autofluorescence imaging (AFI). A 63-year-old man complained of a loss of appetite. An upper endoscopic examination revealed a 7 mm nodule located 33 cm from the incisors. A weakly stained area was shown by iodine staining. NBI detected brownish amorphous dots with irregular vessels on the surface of the nodule and AFI distinctly embossed the lesion magenta. A biopsy specimen obtained from the lesions revealed typical SCCE. The patient underwent EMR to remove the SCCE and thereafter remained in a state of clinical remission for 18 months. In summary, NBI and AFI may be useful for detecting and differentially diagnosing SCCE from the squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. EMR is therefore considered to be a potentially useful therapeutic option for removing SCCE instead of performing an oesophagotomy.