An umbilical/paraumbilical hernia as a sign of an intraabdominal malignancy in the elderly.

UNLABELLED The umbilical area can present with a variety of signs associated with an intra abdominal malignancy. An umbilical/paraumbilical hernia might itself be a sign of an internal malignancy. The correlation between the presence of an umbilical/paraumbilical hernia and an intra abdominal malignancy has been previously based only on case reports. The aim of the study was to evaluate the significance of an umbilical/paraumbilical hernia as a symptom of an intraabdominal malignancy. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective analysis was performed; review of the medical records of 145 patients (113 female and 32 male; mean age 66.4±11.9) with an umbilical/paraumbilical hernia treated during the period of 2005-2013. Twenty-three patients (15.9%) were diagnosed with an intra abdominal malignancy; 34% were in the age group over 75 years of age. RESULTS The most common malignancies were: colorectal cancer, followed by pancreatic cancer, and cancers of the adnexa and kidneys. The patients with a concomitant malignancy identified were significantly older than those without a malignancy. In 65% of patients, the diagnosis was made postoperatively. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that age, the presence of preoperative symptoms, anemia, and weight loss were independent risk factors for concomitant abdominal cancer. CONCLUSION The findings of this study support intensive preoperative diagnostic evaluation of elderly patients that are qualified for surgery for an umbilical/paraumbilical hernia. This is particularly important because most of these patients had a small/medium hernia orifice, which did not allow for accurate manual abdominal exploration. Currently, the routine preoperative diagnostic evaluation is often insufficient for an accurate diagnosis.