Incidentalomas discoveries during staging and surveillance for colorectal cancer patients

This study attempted to evaluate the incidence of incidentalomas based on computed tomography (CT) in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. CRC patients who obtained plan or enhanced CT for the whole abdominal and pelvis were included at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. Incidentalomas, including uterine tumors, adrenal gland tumors, renal cancer, pancreatic tumors, prostatic tumors, ovarian tumors, upper-tract urothelial cancer, and gallbladder tumors, were assessed based on all radiology reports by radiologists and surgeons. Moreover, the clinical characteristics of all patients were collected. A total of 7053 CRC patients (mean age, 62.6 ± 12.3; 4139 male) were finally included, 255 (3.6%) patients had an incidentaloma. The proportions of uterine tumors, adrenal gland tumors, renal cancer, pancreatic tumors, and prostatic tumors were 1.3% (92/7053), 1.1% (77/7053), 0.7% (46/7053), 0.1% (15/7053), and 0.1% (10/7053), respectively. Ovarian tumors, upper-tract urothelial cancer, and gallbladder tumors all had an incidence of <0.1%. The prevalence of incidentalomas in CRC patients was 3.6% (255/7053). The most common incidentalomas was uterine tumor, followed by adrenal gland tumor, and renal cancer. These findings highlighted the importance of careful evaluation of abdominal and pelvic CT scans in CRC patients, as timely detection and management of incidentalomas might optimize treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes.