[Treatment of local recurrence of colonic and rectal cancer initially treated by resection-anastomosis].

Between 1970 and 1988, 32 patients underwent laparotomy for local recurrence following a curative and restorative resection for carcinoma of the colon and rectum. Histological confirmation was obtained in 30 cases. Of the 28 patients for whom the site of local recurrence could be defined, the previous anastomosis was involved in 25. At laparotomy, 12 patients had disseminated lesions: 5 of these patients had complete resection of lesions which were, however, considered as palliative. Twenty patients had a local recurrence without metastasis. Five of them had unresectable lesions and 15 were amenable to curative resection. After curative resection, the median survival time was 34 months, and 5-year actuarial survival time was 26 percent. After palliative surgery, the median survival time was 5 months, but 1 patient is still alive 12 years after radiationtherapy. These results emphasize the importance of follow-up, given the high salvage rate in patients in whom curative resection can be performed.