Squamous-cell carcinoma of the proximal colon: report of a case and review of the literature.

A case of an undoubted squamous-cell carcinoma arising at the hepatic flexure in the colon of a middle-aged man is reported. Review of the literature and exclusion of cases not strictly comparable suggest that pure squamous-cell carcinoma of the colon is rare, this being only the fifteenth such tumor reported, and only the second recorded case of such a tumor of the hepatic flexure. Possible pathogenesis is suggested.