A 19-year old male Caucasian patient visited the emergency department of our hospital because of melena. He was previously healthy and used no medication but had noticed black stools one week before his visit. There had been no abdominal discomfort, nausea or vomiting. None of his family members had gastrointestinal diseases, and he used no alcohol, did not smoke or use elicit drugs. His occupation is unknown. On physical examination the abdomen was nontender and without palpable masses. Rectal examination revealed black stools. His weight was 62 kg. and his length 1,87 m. Laboratory tests showed an iron deficiency anemia with a hemoglobin concentration of 4.7 mmol/L (normal > 8,5 mmol/L) and a serum ferritin concentration of 4 μg/L (normal > 30 μg/L). Liver function tests, serum creatinine, albumin, CRP and glucose were all normal. Duodenoscopy showed a normal esophageal, gastric and duodenal mucosa without evidence of recent bleeding. A Meckel scan showed no evidence for a Meckel's diverticulum. A small bowel series however, demonstrated a large polyp in the proximal jejunum and possibly a smaller polyp in the distal jejunum (Figure ).\nAs this polyp was the probable cause of the patient's bleeding, a laparotomy with peroperative small bowel endoscopy was performed. Approximately 50 cm beyond Treitz' ligament, a multilobular, 40 mm large polyp was seen, which was subsequently surgically resected (Figure ). There were no other small bowel polyps; the suspected smaller polyp seen on the small bowel series was therefore most likely an artefact.\nPathologic examination of this polyp demonstrated a hamartomatous polyp with arborization of smooth muscle compatible with a PJP (Figure ). No signs of dysplasia were seen and the surrounding tissue had a normal histological appearance. Immunohistochemistry was negative for p53, focally positive for cyclin D1 and the basal parts of the cryps were positive for Ki67/MIB1.\nThe postoperative course has been unremarkable and no further gastrointestinal bleeding has occurred. Total colonoscopy did not show any additional polyps. A repeated, extensive family history, performed by a clinical genetics consultant, did not reveal clues (including pigmentation, nasal or gastrointestinal polyps or typical secondary tumors) to the occurrence of PJS in family members.
Case 2 is a 76-year-old Japanese man who had been treated for prostate, rectal and lung cancer, with no mucocutaneous pigmentation or family history of PJS. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a duodenal polyp measuring 15 mm in diameter in the second part of his duodenum (Figure ). Endoscopic mucosal resection was performed, and histological examination showed findings suggestive of a hamartomatous polyp (Figure ). A colonoscopy and small-intestinal follow-through showed no other polyps. After the endoscopic treatment, concomitant liver and thyroid cancers were found.