1992 Volume 34 Issue 11 Pages 2576-2582
We studied on the clinical course of patients with early colorectal cancers polypectomized by endoscopy. The patients consisted of 182 cases with intramucosal cancers of the colorectum (m cancers) and of 28 cases with submucosal invading cancers of the colorectum (sm cancers). All had been under endoscopic observation for over 6 months. For the evaluation of the frequency and timing of the development of new neoplastic lesions after removal, the group was divided into the following 3 subgroups ; single cancer without adenoma (group A), single cancer with adenoma (group B) and multiple cancers (group C). The study indicated that neither recurrence nor metastasis were seen, but 6 residual cancers in association with m cancers. Among all patients with early colorectal cancers, new neoplastic lesions were diagnosed in 55%. The incidence was higher especially in the cases with sm cancers, group B and C of m cancers and male cases. The incidence of the development of new cancers in early colorectal cancers was 6.2%. In the group with m cancers, all new cancers were diagnosed within 3 years, while in the group with sm cancers a new cancer was diagnosed more than 5 years after polypectomy. For effective follow-up programs of early colorectal cancers polypectomized by endoscopy, it was considered to examine by endoscopy patients of group A with m cancer on the first and third years, those of group B and C every year for the first 3 years. It would be paticularly important to follow up patients with sm cancers for an extended period. The evaluation included an examination for multiple primary malignant neoplasmas accompanying early colorectal cancers and their incidence was as high as 20%.
