[Surgery of the colorectal polyps and early stage cancer - Expected standards]

Benign polyps and early-stage cancer of the colon and rectum traditionally belong to the territory of endoscopic removal. Even though the quality of endoscopic imaging systems and additional diagnostic methods have undergone a substantial evolution over the past decade, large, sessile and lateral-spreading lesions of the large bowel still represent a significant risk of malignancy. This doubt may be undispellable until the removal of the lesion. Therefore endoscopists need to be highly cautious, and keep a very low threshold to involve an expert surgeon even at the phase of diagnostics, as well as treatment. We summarise state-of-the-art treatment principles of benign polyps and early malignant colorectal cancer. Finally, we propose national quality measures of surgical interventions for colorectal polyps.