Extended resections for carcinoma of the colon and rectum.

Eighty-four of 1,081 patients with carcinoma of the colon and rectum operated upon at our institution between 1951 and 1980 had extended resections involving adjacent organs. The types of presenting symptoms or the duration had no affect on the survival time of these patients. Survival time was most significantly correlated with pathologic penetration and Dukes' stage. The operative mortality was 5.9 per cent with a complication rate of 28.5 per cent. The nature of the individual organs involved did not affect the survival time. Patients with carcinoma of the colon and rectum extending to adjacent organs can undergo resection with a five year survival rate comparable with all patients with surgically treated carcinoma of the colon and rectum.