In a review of 1037 patients with colorectal cancers, there were 32 patients below the age of 40 years (3 percent). Rectal bleeding and abdominal pain were the most common presenting symptoms. The average delay between the onset of symptoms and treatment was 6.5 months. An analysis of tumors according to Dukes' staging revealed no significant difference between young and elderly patients. The younger patients had a greater frequency of mucinous and poorly differentiated carcinoma. When compared by clinical staging, however, the young patient did as well or better than his older counterpart. Clinical staging was the most important prognostic factor, irrespective of age. No inherent difference was found in the virulence of the cancer in the young, and five-year survival rates were not significantly different in young and old patients (59 percent vs. 49 percent).

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Between January 1, 1973, and December 31, 1986, 1,734 patients underwent colorectal resections for carcinoma. Patients were divided into two groups: Group I included 163 patients aged greater than or equal to 80 years on first presentation; Group II comprised 1,571 patients aged less than 80 years. The total perioperative mortality rates for the elderly and young group were 15.3 percent and 5 percent, respectively (P less than 0.001). The surgical mortality rates after elective operations in Groups I and II were 7.4 and 4.5 percent, respectively, and were not statistically different. Emergency surgery was associated with a significantly higher incidence of perioperative deaths at any age (P less than 0.001). In the elderly group, most deaths (88 percent) resulted from complications of coexisting medical disorders or thromboembolic complications. The 5-year survival for the young and elderly group were 46.2 percent and 35 percent, respectively (P less than 0.05). However, excluding patients dying from nonmalignant disease, the 5-year survival rate did not differ significantly between the two groups of patients (49.5 percent vs. 41.2 percent).

Pelvic and perineal recurrences of cancer after rectal amputation are frequent, often isolated, and thus directly responsible for a fatal outcome by local decompression accidents or infection. This study explores the patterns of recurrence after "curative" operation for rectal cancers. One hundred thirteen patients who underwent abdominoperineal resection are reviewed: there were 36 local recurrences, i.e., an incidence of 31.8 percent. About 70 percent of these recurrences occurred within two years after surgical treatment. Low level of tumor in the rectum, local spread into perirectal fat or serosa, lymph node involvement, and histologic grade of malignancy were the only factors that were statistically related to local recurrence. The strategy for careful follow-up of patients at risk is outlined and a plea is made for a controlled trial of postoperative radiotherapy.

Rectal endoscopic lymphoscintigraphy was performed in 10 control subjects and in a series of 85 patients with adenocarcinoma of the rectum as a prospective study to evaluate lymphatic drainage of the rectum and lymphatic spread in rectal cancer. Complete cranial drainage was demonstrated in all control subjects, and internal iliac nodes were also visible in 50 percent of cases. Results were correlated with histologic node examination in all patients operated upon for rectal cancer. Rectal endoscopic lymphoscintigraphy was assessed for sensitivity (85 percent), specificity (68 percent), overall accuracy (76 percent), positive predictive value (71 percent), and negative predictive value (83 percent). False-negative and false-positive results are discussed. Rectal endoscopic lymphoscintigraphy represents the only method currently available for evaluation of lymphatic spread in rectal cancer.