To view the differential diagnosis of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), click here
To view the differential diagnosis of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), click here
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]: Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Trusha Tank, M.D.[2], Qurrat-ul-ain Abid, M.D.[3]
Colorectal cancer must be differentiated from other diseases that cause unexplained weight loss, unexplained loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, jaundice, and fatigue, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and diverticular disease. There are less common conditions that may be confused as colorectal cancer such as infectious colitis and gastrointestinal lymphoma.
Other conditions that can be mistaken for colorectal cancer include the following:
ABBREVIATIONS:N/A: Not available , N/V: Nausea/vomiting, M/C: Most common, DRE: Digital rectal exam, RLQ: Right lower quadrant, LLQ: Left lower quadrant | |||||||||||
Diseases | Clinical manifestations | Para-clinical findings | Gold standard | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Symptoms | |||||||||||
Lab Findings | Imaging | Histopathology | |||||||||
Bowel frequency | Blood in stool | Abdominal pain | Tenesmus | Other symptoms | Anemia | Colonoscopy | CT scan | Other diagnostic study | |||
Colorectal carcinoma (Adenocarcinoma)[7] | ↑ or ↓ | + | +/- | + |
|
+ |
|
|
PET scans
Barium enema |
|
Biopsy, genetic testing, and histopathological analysis |
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome [8][9][10][11][12] |
↑ or ↓ | + | + | - | + | Barium enema
MRI
|
|
Genetic testing for STK11 and colonoscopy | |||
Carcinoids [13][14][15][16][17] |
↑ | +/- | + | - | + |
|
|
PET scan (11C-5-hydroxytryptophan, 11C-5-HTP)
MRI
Ki-67 index |
|
Biopsy and histopathological analysis | |
Diseases | Bowel frequency | Blood in stool | Abdominal pain | Tenesmus | Other symptoms | Anemia | Colonoscopy | CT scan | Other diagnostic study | Histopathology | Gold standard |
Juvenile Polyposis Coli[18][19][20][21][22] | ↑ | + | + | - |
|
+ |
|
Barium study
Stool DNA test Diagnose if any of the following positive: |
|
Diagnostic criteria fulfilment | |
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST)[23][24][25][26][27] | - | +/- | - | - | +/- |
|
Benign
Malignant GIST with metastasis:
|
Endoscopic ultrasonography
|
|
Endoscopic ultrasound | |
Hamartoma[30] | ↑ | + | + | + |
|
- |
|
|
Biopsy
|
|
Biopsy |
Diseases | Bowel frequency | Blood in stool | Abdominal pain | Tenesmus | Other symptoms | Anemia | Colonoscopy | CT scan | Other diagnostic study | Histopathology | Gold standard |
Colorectal Lymphoma[31][32] | - | +/- | + | - |
|
+ |
|
|
Double-contrast enema
Biopsy |
Biopsy | |
Kaposi's sarcoma[33] | ↑ | + | + | - | + |
|
|
Serology
Biopsy |
|
Biopsy | |
Arteriovenous malformation[34] | - | + | - | - |
|
+ |
|
|
|
Accidental finding | |
Diseases | Bowel frequency | Blood in stool | Abdominal pain | Tenesmus | Other symptoms | Anemia | Colonoscopy | CT scan | Other diagnostic study | Histopathology | Gold standard |
Diverticular diseases[35][36][37] | ↑ or ↓ | +/- | +
RLQ |
- | - |
|
|
Barium enema
|
|
CT scan | |
Hemorrhoids[38] | ↓ | + | + | - |
|
+ | Anoscopy
|
|
DRE
|
|
Clinical |
Anal fissure[39] | - | + | + | - | +/- | Anoscopy
|
|
|
|
Clinical | |
Diseases | Bowel frequency | Blood in stool | Abdominal pain | Tenesmus | Other symptoms | Anemia | Colonoscopy | CT scan | Other diagnostic study | Histopathology | Gold standard |
Infectious colitis[40] | ↑ | + | + | - | - |
|
|
Stool analysis
Stool cultures |
|
Stool culture | |
Ulcerative colitis[41]V | ↑ | + | + | + |
|
+ |
|
|
|
|
Endoscopic biopsy |
Crohn's disease[41] | ↑ | + | + | + | + |
|
|
|
|
Endoscopic biopsy | |
Irritable bowel syndrome[42] | ↑ ↓ | + | + | + |
|
- |
|
|
Diagnosis of exclusion
|
|
Clinical diagnosis (Rome criteria) |
Diseases | Bowel frequency | Blood in stool | Abdominal pain | Tenesmus | Other symptoms | Anemia | Colonoscopy | CT scan | Other diagnostic study | Histopathology | Gold standard |
Appendicitis[43] | ↑ | - | + | - |
|
- |
|
|
Ultrasound
|
|
CT scan |
Strangulated hernia | ↓ | - | + | - | - |
|
|
Ultrasound:
|
|
Ultrasound | |
Bowel endometriosis[44] | ↑ or ↓ | + | + | + | + |
|
|
Transvaginal ultrasound
T1-weighted or fat-suppression T1-weighted MRIs
|
|
Transvaginal ultrasound | |
ABBREVIATIONS:N/A: Not available , N/V: Nausea/vomiting, M/C: Most common, DRE: Digital rectal exam, RLQ: Right lower quadrant, LLQ: Left lower quadrant |