[Preventive ovariectomy in colorectal cancer]

Between 1975 and 1989 we carried out a total of 567 resections of the colon and rectum and performed a uni- or bilateral ovarectomy in 53 (9.3%) cases. Histopathological findings in the case of 41 (7.2%) patients were unremarkable whereas 8 cases (1.4%) revealed metastases of the colorectal cancer. In the case of 4 patients (0.7%) synchronous ovarian cancer occurred. According to the TNM-scheme primary tumors included T2 in 2 cases, T3 in 5 and T4 in 1 of the cases. Reported figures of ovarian metastases in colorectal cancer vary between 2.0 and 10.3%, we found 2.1% in our series. Prophylactic ovarectomy even in premenopausal patients is indicated if one or both ovaries show pathological findings on laparotomy since infiltrative growth of the tumor can be proved only histologically. In addition we performed bilateral oophorectomy on postmenopausal women as a method of preventing occurrence of other ovarian tumors.