Colorectal Cancer: Preoperative Evaluation and Staging

The preoperative assessment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) requires a multimodal approach, including endoscopic evaluation and clinical, radiographic, and biochemical assessment. In addition to providing a diagnosis, histologic review of biopsy specimens imparts valuable information about tumor grade and other important prognostic features that can help determine treatment. A thorough history and physical examination rounds out the initial evaluation and provides the surgeon and other treating physicians with vital additional information for detailed operative planning. Colon and rectal cancer, although closely related histologically, are considered, and often treated, very differently, depending on stage, based solely on location.