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Carcinoma of the colorectum knows no age barrier. To date, more than 1,400 cases have been reported to occur in persons less than 40 years old. Our experience with 70 patients treated over a ten-year interval is reviewed. Signs and symptoms in the young are not distinctive. Diagnosis depends on a high index of suspicion and appropriate investigative procedures. Survival times are shorter in the patients who have mucinous and anaplastic tumors, and their incidences seem to be increased in this age segment. Overall survival does not significantly differ from our general experience (41 per cent, 5-year survival). Early diagnosis and prompt institution of aggressive surgical treatment can be expected to produce survival equivalent to that in patients of other ages.

Left-sided ischemic colitis was induced in 44 inbred Male Fischer rats of the same age by a standardized devascularization procedure. Fifteen animals had nothing else done (Group I). Twenty-nine animals had feces evacuated from the left colon and received an enema just before the procedure; 14 had a sterile-water enema (Group II), and 15 had a 1 per cent hydrocortisone enema (Group III). At sacrifice, 72 hours after the surgical procedure, the mucosal surface grossly involved in ischemic changes was measured. The mean area of ischemic changes in a Group I was significantly greater than that of either Group II or Group III (P less than .05). The incidence of circumferential changes was highest in Group I and lowest in Group III; the difference between Group I and Group III was marginally significant (P = .06).