The author hadthe opportunity in a 31-year period of practice in Coloproctology, from 1965to 1996, to attend 24,200 patients, being 923 (3.8%) patients bearing cancerof the large bowel. Eight hundred and seventy (870 3.6%) of them werecolorectal cancer (adenocarcinoma) and 53 (0.2%) were carcinoma of the anus.In 490 cases (56.3%) cancer were localized in the colon and 380 (43.7%) in therectum. The aim of this work is to study these 490 patients bearing colon canceras far as several data are concerned as topographic distribution, complications,graduation, stage and no resectability of tumors, age, gender, symptoms, clinicaland proctologic findings and survival rates and coincidence of polyps in thepatients. Colon cancer were more common (53,1%)in the rectum (41,2%) than inthe anus(5,7%). Colon cancer were far more common in the left colon (77,8%)than in the right colon (22,2%), the sigmoid and rectosigmoid were the mostcommon topography of colonic cancer (61,6%). The mean age of the patients was60,6 years, far more common between 40 and 80 years of age (86,7%) and withlittle difference between men (52.2%) and women (47.8%). The most frequent symptomswere constipation and diarrhea (70.6%), abdominal cramps (59.6%), blood in thestools (58.6%) and alteration of shape of the feces (55.5%). Localized A andB Dukes disease were more common (69.4%) than Dukes C and D (30.6%). Distaltumors (left colon) were more disseminated (73.2%) than proximal tumors (rightcolon) (55.9%). The coincidence of polyps and colon cancer reached 16.3%, theywere more common during 5 years after surgery (8.3%) than before (1.4%) andby the occasion of the surgery (6.6%). Isolated polyps (up to 3 polyps) weremore common (76.3%) than multiple polyps (23.7%). Operability of patients was98.0% and resectability of tumors was 94.1% and no significant difference wasobserved as far as localization of tumors is concerned. Complications of tumorsof left colon were far more common (14.4%) than tumors of the right colon (4.6%),intestinal obstruction were the most common complication.
