The high prevalence of colorectal neoplasms in preoperative patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm or peripheral artery disease.

OBJECTIVE

In Japan, the incidence of both colorectal carcinoma and vascular disease is increasing. We screened preoperative patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) or peripheral artery disease (PAD) for colorectal cancer.

DESIGN OF STUDY

This study was retrospective and cross-sectional.

MATERIALS

The subjects were 492 patients admitted for elective surgery of AAA or PAD.

METHODS

The patients underwent immunochemical faecal occult blood tests (FOBT) before operation, and those with positive results underwent investigations for colorectal neoplasm. We compared the results with that of screening programmes performed on the general population.

RESULTS

Of the 408 patients that underwent FOBT, 104 (25.5%) were positive. After colonoscopy, six (1.5%) had colorectal carcinoma and 16 (3.9%) had advanced adenoma. These values were several folds higher than that for the general population in Japan.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with AAA or PAD carry a high risk for colorectal neoplasm.