A Rare Case of Colonic Metastases From Tonsillar Carcinoma: Case Report and Review of Literature

The incidence of tonsillar cancer has increased by four times in the United States over the last few decades likely due to recent increase in human papilloma virus (HPV) infections. The stage of the tumor predicts likelihood of metastasis, with advanced stages associated with higher chances of metastasis. The squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the head and neck commonly metastasize to the lung, bone and liver in descending order. Tonsillar cancer rarely involves the small bowel and our review of the literature did not reveal any reported case of metastasis to the colon/large bowel. Our patient had locally metastatic tonsillar cancer, treated with partial pharyngectomy and selective neck dissection but later developed several bone and colonic metastases concurrently, likely secondary to hematogeneous dissemination after a few months of therapy. To the best of our knowledge, large bowel metastasis from head and neck SCC has never been reported in the literature. In these patients presenting with atypical gastrointestinal symptoms, a high index of suspicion should be maintained to determine the extent of metastasis and identify other metastatic sites.