Adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum: a review of surgical treatment in 302 patients.

A retrospective study of 302 patients who underwent surgical treatment for colorectal carcinoma from 1952 to 1971 is presented. Resectability rate was 93.7 per cent. Operative mortality rate was 5 per cent. Complications were recorded in 12 per cent of cases. Recurrence at the anastomotic line occurred in 3.31 per cent. The actuarial five-year survival rate was 44.2 per cent for all types of cancer. The "no-touch" technique utilized after 1968 resulted in increased survival of patients who had Dukes' B and C cancers.