Early Cancer of the Colon and Rectum. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1976, 119 (3), 265-274 -Diagnostic methods for the cancer of the colon and rectum were compared in two groups of patients, i.e., patients of stage A malignancy in the Dukes classification, and those with the so-called "early cancer of the colon and rectum", and the best way to find cancer of the colon and rectum in its early stage was investigated.At the same time, the prognosis of early cancer of the colon and rectum was studied by the use of the relative survival rate. The following results were obtained.1) The so-called "early cancer of the colon and rectum", of which invasion was limited to the mucosa and submucosa, can be correctly diagnosed by the combined application of both biopsy and exfoliative cytology under direct vision even before surgery and/or polypectomy.2) Cancer of the colon and rectum is considered to be a curable disease, if discovered and resected at or before the stage A in the Dukes classification, in which the cancerous pro liferation is limited to the wall of the colon and rectum without any metastasis.-early cancer of the colon and rectumIn recent years, reports on early cancer of the colon and rectum are increased in Japan along with increase in interest in large bowel diseases. However, it cannot be said as yet that the diagnostic method for early cancer of the colon and rectum has been established or that the prognosis of this malignancy has been amply studied.For this reason, the results of endoscopic diagnosis, biopsy diagnosis and cytologic diagnosis (exfoliative cytology) were studied in two groups of patients, i.e., patients of the stage A malignancy in the Dukes classifica tion, and those with the so-called "early cancer of the colon and rectum" defined following the definition of early stomach cancer, and from the results obtained, the diagnostic method for early cancer of the colon and rectum was studied.At the same time, the prognosis of early cancer of the colon and rectum was studied by use of the relative survival rate (Kurihara and Takano 1965), and some interesting findings obtained are to be discussed.
SUBJECTS AND METHODSThe subjects of the study were selected from 316 patients with cancer of the colon and rectum who came to the
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