[Endoscopic diagnosis and therapy of colorectal tumours (author's transl)]

1. If endoscopy leads to the suspicion of an exulcerated and/or polypous carcinoma of the colon, surgical intervention is the primary therapy. Histological classification of the tumour should be effected by means of endoscopic biopsy. 2. (Familial) adenomatosis of the colon requires colectomy. 3. Broad-based polypi resembling a lawn where a large wound area must be expected by electrocoagulation (risk of perforation), and pediculate polypi of the (rare) size of 3 cm and more (risk of haemorrhage) should not be resected via endoscopy but by surgery. 4. Solitary or multiple polypi of the colon not covered by points 1 to 3 above, are primarily for reasons of diagnosis an indication for endoscopic polypectomy. Biospy in the case of adenomas to clarify the histological structure and to obtain qualitative and quantitative information regarding malignant degeration, must be discouraged (""partial diagnosis''.) 5. Basing on the current state of knowledge it is assumed that effective prohylaxis of cancer is achieved by the endoscopic removal of benign adenomas of the colon. 6. It is also assumed that effective cancer therapy can be realised by the endoscopic removal of adenomas which have already undergone malignant degeration (adenoma with severe cellular atypia, invasive differntiated adenocarcinoma in the head of the adenoma.)