Submucosal Necrotic Nodule of the Colon: An Enigmatic Entity Potentially Related to Anisakis Infection.

Context.—: Discrete submucosal necrotic nodules may rarely manifest as colon polyps.

Objective.—: To characterize the clinical and pathologic features of this lesion, which has been under-studied in the literature.

Design.—: We conducted an international search to compile a series. For each potential case, photomicrographs were centrally reviewed to confirm the diagnosis. We gathered clinical and pathologic information on each confirmed case.

Results.—: The final cohort included 25 patients, with 23 having 1 lesion and 2 having several (31 lesions total). Mean patient age was 62 years; 13 patients (52%) were male. Symptoms were nonspecific, although 4 patients (16%) had blood in stool; 14 patients were asymptomatic. Patient history and medications appeared noncontributory. Most cases were located in the right colon (n = 18; 58%). Mean lesion size was 0.4 cm (range, 0.1-1.7 cm). Histology typically showed a centrally necrotic nodule with peripheral fibrosis, chronic inflammation, and sometimes palisading granulomatous inflammation. Percent necrosis ranged from 5% to 95% (average, 70%), and percent fibrosis ranged from 3% to 70% (average, 25%). In 3 cases, degenerated parasitic structures consistent with Anisakis could be seen on hematoxylin-eosin and trichrome special stain. No patient experienced disease recurrence.

Conclusions.—: Submucosal necrotic nodules can present as colon polyps. Most cases are unifocal, and patients do well on follow-up. At least some examples appear to be caused by Anisakis, implicating patient diet. Patients are often asymptomatic, and many cases show no histologic evidence of the causative agent.