| Theme | GI Tract in the Elderly | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Colorectal Cancers in Elderly | |
| Publish Date | 1997/02 | |
| Author | Takayuki Matsumoto | Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| Author | Mitsuo Iida | Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| [ Summary ] | The epidemiologic and clinicopathologic features in colorectal cancers in elderly were reviewed. Because of an obvious increase in the incidence of colorectal cancers in general population, these tumors had become the third most frequent cause of death in subjects over 80 years of age in Japan. The early diagnosis seems necessary, because colorectal cancers in elderly are characterized by advanced stage, and dilemma in therapeutic consideration for co-existing diseases. The advanced stage of the cancer in elderly is partly explained by the delay in the diagnosis, because colonoscopy is less frequently applied for the subjects over 80 years of age at our institution. Since total colonoscopy has become more widely accepted than previously, and the diagnosis of early colorectal cancers is increasing in number, the abovementioned features in colorectal cancers in elderly seem to change in the near future. | |