[Current trends in therapy of colorectal cancers]

There is an increase of colorectal cancer incidence in the GDR. The rate of early diagnosis has not improved and the 5-year-survival rate has remained constant since 20 years. A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory: modern staging, typing, grading; screening in high-risk groups; therapy of the adenoma-cancer-sequence; adjuvant tumour therapy; improvement in preoperative care and surgical technique; advance in therapy of local recurrences and metastases; improved organization in postoperative care. Own experiences in these different fields with 154 patients suffering from rectal cancer are dealt with.