[Endoscopic treatment of colorectal cancer]

Endoscopic polypectomy should be applied only for early colorectal carcinomas. Intramucosal carcinoma do not have a risk of lymph node metastases. However, there is an about 10% risk of lymph node metastases among carcinomas showing submucosal invasion (sm carcinoma). When risk factors revealed to be positive after polypectomy, subsequent surgical resection of the large bowel with lymph nodes dissection is needed, because these sm carcinomas are considered to have a high risk of lymph node metastases. Therefore, accurate diagnosis of depth of invasion is essential to prevent subsequent surgical resection following endoscopic polypectomy. Endoscopy, barium enema and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) are all considered to be effective for an accurate diagnosis of depth of invasion. Endoscopic polypectomy includes hot biopsy, snare polypectomy and endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). Appropriate maneuver must be chosen, considering the characteristics of the lesion. Major complications after endoscopic polypectomy are bleeding and perforation of the large bowel. Including an establishment of a new risk factors, further efforts must be made to prevent unnecessary additional surgical resection of the large bowel following endoscopic polypectomy.