[The clinically unrecognized colorectal cancer in a patient autopsy sample]

An evaluation of 27,543 postmortem records revealed that 29 percent of colon carcinomas and 16.9 per cent of rectum carcinomas had not been identified until postmortem investigation (186 cases). The rate of false diagnosis have decreased from 1954 by 12.5 per cent for colon carcinoma and by 20.8 per cent for rectum carcinoma. They still amounted to 27.7 per cent for patients above 65 years of age and to 11.5 per cent for younger patients. They were 31.6 per cent for carcinoma of the right colon half and 20.6 per cent for left-side colon carcinoma. On admission to hospital, tumour stages III and IV were recorded form 52.7 per cent of all patients hospitalized for colon carcinoma and from 30.8 per cent of those with rectum carcinoma. Sixty-four patients died within 72 hours form hospitalization and another 27 within one week.