Surgical treatment of malignant and benign colorectal neoplasms based on authors' clinical data

Colorectal cancer remains a huge diagnostic and therapeutic issue in Poland and worldwide. World epidemiological data indicates a constant increase in morbidity in recent decades.

The aim of this research was to present surgical procedures in malignant and benign colorectal neoplasms based on authors' clinical data.

Between 2001 and 2010, in the 1st Department of General and Endocrinological Surgery in Bialystok, 754 patients with malignant colorectal cancer were hospitalized. Precancerous conditions which included polyps and non-specific bowel inflammations were observed in 491 and 52 patients, respectively.

The most frequent location of a malignant colorectal tumor was the rectum - 271 (35%) cases and sigmoid colon - 235 (31%) cases. In 8 cases (1%), a multifocal location of colorectal neoplasm was observed. Similar locations were observed in the case of polyps. They were observed the most frequently in the sigmoid colon - 144 (29.3%) cases and rectum - 122 (24.8%) cases. In the cases of colorectal cancer located in the rectum (271), the most frequently applied procedure was abdomino-perineal amputation - 102 (37.6%) patients (T1-3 N1-2 M0). In sigmoid colon cancer (235 cases), sigmoid colon resection was performed most frequently - in 175 patients (74.5%) (T1-3 N0-2 M0-1). Right hemicolectomy was performed in 120 (T1-4 N0-2 M0-1) patients and left hemicolectomy in 52 (T1-4 N02 M0-1) patients. In 482 cases, endoscopic resection of polyps was performed and in 9 patients resection through laparotomy. The majority of operations were performed according to plan, however, many of them were performed in emergency.

Colorectal cancers, irrespectively to their location, develop secretly without any symptoms in the early stages which is the reason why patients contact a doctor in the late stadium of the disease. It is also the cause for a majority of the procedures performed in emergency. The best prognosis and long-term results are obtained with treatment combined with radio- and chemotherapy.