Recent Advances In Management of Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancer continues to be one of the most serious human malignancies causing significant morbidity & mortality. It is a common malignancy in the United States and Western Europe. It ranks second only to those of the lung in men, and of the breast in women. In Egypt, it is not an uncommon disease, constituting 3.05% of all malignancies presented to the National Cancer Institute - Cairo University during the period 1970-1984.

Good knowledge of the surgical anatomy of the colon and rectum is of great significance to the surgeon in order to understand the various surgical procedures and the multiple pathways of the spread of the disease.

The incidence of colorectal carcinoma IS mcreasing as indicated by many reports from various international centers. In Egypt, it constitutes 34.7 % of all malignant tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. The incidence differs according to the site of the growth, the sex and age of the patient, and the occurrence of multiple cancers.

The definite etiology of colorectal cancer is still obscure. However, many factors play a role in the development of such malignancy. Among possible predisposing factors; polyposis coli and chronic inflammatory bowel disease appear to be inconvertibly established.