Local excision of cancer of the rectum.

Local excision of rectal cancer can be a part of treatment of this tumor. The authors do not feel that this procedure is only palliative. Clinical staging I and II, tumor diameter less than 3 cm, malignancy grade 1 or 2, invasion no deeper than the submucosa, and no signet-cell carcinoma are all requisites for limited, local excision of rectal carcinoma. Patients operated upon under these criteria have a five-year survival rate of 89.6 +/- 21.7 per cent for those with invasion into the submucosa and 78 +/- 49.9 per cent for those with invasion into the muscularis propria. But to get such good results, strict self control must be exercised in selecting patients.