The National Cancer Data Base report on colorectal cancer.
BACKGROUND
Previous Commission on Cancer studies have examined time trends in stage of disease, treatment patterns, and survival for colorectal cancer. Reported herein are the most current 1993 National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) data on colorectal cancer.


METHODS
Two "calls for data," one in 1990 and one in 1991, have yielded a total of 71,560 colon cancer reports and 33,409 rectal cancer reports from hospital registries across the country.


RESULTS
For colon cancer, continuation of the time trend toward proximal migration was reported. For both colon and rectal cancer, American Joint Committee on Cancer staging was used increasingly as the standard of appropriate cancer diagnosis. Increased use of multimodal treatment was reported for both colon and rectal cancers. African-American and non-Hispanic white, low-income patients were reported to have later stages of both colon and rectal cancers.


CONCLUSIONS
The NCDB provides a useful longitudinal perspective on the diagnosis and treatment of colon and rectal cancers.
Steele
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GD
Department of Surgery, New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology