Primary appendiceal adenocarcinoma presenting as advanced ovarian cancer: a case report

Abstract Background Account for less than 1% of all gastrointestinal tumors, primary appendiceal malignancies are rare and their diagnoses are usually made after exploratory laparotomy. Most of them present with nonspecific symptoms, such as abdominal pain, abdominal fullness and huge pelvic mass, mimicking advanced stage ovarian cancer.Case Presentation We described two menopausal women who were referred to our institution under the impression of advanced stage of primary ovarian cancer. However, both patients were eventually found to have primary appendiceal adenocarcinoma with ovarian metastasis at laparotomy. Initial symptoms, intraoperative finding, pathology finding, and postoperative clinical courses were recorded.Conclusions Comparing with primary ovarian tumor, ovarian metastasis is relatively rare. The clinical picture can be misleading and the differential diagnoses of primary appendiceal cancer should be considered when preoperative workup is planned.