Complete blood count indices in colorectal carcinoma.

Since carcinomas of the colon or rectum are associated with blood loss, we wondered if complete blood count data were suggestive of iron deficiency in cases of colorectal carcinoma. The mean corpuscular volume and especially the red blood cell distribution width are thought to be more sensitive to early iron deficiency than the hemoglobin value. These values were recorded from a series of 98 consecutive cases of colorectal carcinoma and compared with an age-matched control group consisting of patients with no history or clinical suspicion of malignant neoplasm. We found that the hemoglobin level, mean corpuscular volume, and red blood cell distribution width in patients with colorectal carcinoma do not generally show evidence of iron deficiency. The addition of the mean corpuscular volume and red blood cell distribution width to the hemoglobin value does not seem to increase the sensitivity of the complete blood count in the detection or clinical suspicion of colorectal carcinoma.