[Development of metachronous tumors of the colon]

Clinical and endoscopic evidence gained at the follow-up of 93 patients with metachroneous colon cancer suggests that at present there is minimal change to predict the occurrence, time of onset and site of emergence of the secondary tumors as the latter grow rapidly and rise in macroscopically free-of-tumor colon segments. In some patients metachroneous tumors were associated with long histories of benign adenomas. The authors hold that patients operated on for colon cancer should remain under life-long clinical and endoscopic observation.