TY - JOUR T1 - Rectal cancer mimic: a rare case of syphilitic proctitis JF - BMJ Case Reports JO - BMJ Case Reports DO - 10.1136/bcr-2020-235522 VL - 13 IS - 12 SP - e235522 AU - Rajashri Veeresh Patil AU - Iain Stephenson AU - Cathy J Richards AU - Yvette Griffin Y1 - 2020/12/01 UR - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/13/12/e235522.abstract N2 - Syphilitic proctitis is a rare presentation of sexually transmitted infection that poses a diagnostic challenge as it mimics rectal cancer clinically, radiologically and endoscopically. We report a case of a 66-year-old male patient with a background of HIV infection presenting with obstructive bowel symptoms and initial diagnosis of rectal cancer on CT. Sigmoidoscopy and histopathology were non-diagnostic. A diagnosis of secondary syphilis was suspected after obtaining sexual history and diagnostic serology, avoiding planned surgical intervention. ER -