Colo-rectal carcinoma: A review of 109 cases

A retrospective study of 109 cases of diagnosed colorectal carcinoma over a three-year period (1977-1979) in St. Laurence's Hospital was carried out. Our data show that tumours lying in the rectum and recto-sigmoid junction (RSJ) have different characteristics to those that lie above the recto-sigmoid junction. Tumours below the recto-sigmoid junction tend to have a male predominance, commonly present with visual bleeding of less than six months' duration, histologically show less local invasion and, hence, have a better three-year survival rate than the more proximal tumours. The tumours above the recto-sigmoid junction more commonly presented with symptoms in excess of six months; visual bleeding occurred in only 15% of cases and 90% had histological evidence of local invasion or distant metastases with a very poor three-year survival rate. Current investigative procedures collectively have a satisfactory diagnostic accuracy. The main problem is the late presentation by the patient for investigation.