Large bowel obstruction in women with pelvic malignancies. What is the primary

Large bowel obstruction is occasionally the mode of presentation of advanced colorectal or pelvic malignancies, and a prognostic of poor survival. The choices of treatment range from palliative tube decompression to curative or palliative surgery. Twelve out of 500 women with various malignancies and symptomatology of large bowel obstruction were studied. All patients required urgent exploratory laparotomies. The primary site was established intra-operatively to be the colon (2 cases), stomach (2 cases) and ovaries (2 cases). In the remaining 6 cases there was uncertainty about the origin of primary disease. Routine histology and immuno-histochemistry of the specimens revealed the origin of primary malignancy in all cases. Meticulous histological examination is essential for the establishment of correct diagnosis and selection of the best available treatment in women with pelvic malignancies, presenting with acute bowel obstruction.