Multifocal neoplasia involving the colon and appendix in ulcerative colitis: pathological and molecular features.

A patient with ulcerative colitis, extensive dysplasia, multifocal colon cancer, and an appendiceal cystadenoma is described. A 48-year-old man with a 26-year history of ulcerative colitis (UC) had extensive dysplasia involving nearly the entire colon and four dysplasia-associated mass lesions (DALMs). Four invasive adenocarcinomas were present. This case is the first documentation of a DALM (mucinous cystadenoma) arising in the appendix in the setting of UC. The genetic alterations present in the various lesions were analyzed. The molecular profiles of the neoplastic lesions differed. Mutations were found in p53 and ras genes, and one site showed microsatellite instability in a single genetic locus. These molecular abnormalities develop before invasive cancer develops, and may undergo clonal expansion to create large mucosal patches containing certain cells with genetic alterations. The diversity of the early changes suggests that the recurrent inflammation characteristic of long-standing UC randomly damages genes known to participate in colon carcinogenesis and that it affects multiple target genes. The findings also support a multiclonal origin of synchronous tumors because the molecular phenotypes of the preinvasive lesions differed at various sites.