Diagnosis and prognosis of early cancer of the colon and rectum.
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 proliferation is limited to the wall of the colon and rectum without any metastasis.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011351:Proctoscopy; D011379:Prognosis; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology