Two Cases of Colon Cancer Associated with Radiation Colitis

Takemi Fukuoka, Hitoshi Kotanagi, Yutaka Shibata, Toshiaki Yoshioka, Tomio Narisawa, Kenji Koyama

First Department of Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine

Two patients of colon cancer associated with radiation colitis are presented. Both patients were in the advanced stage when diagnosed as colon cancer. This was caused by a delay in diagnosis. Although we suspected that colon cancer was associated with the radiation colitis, we could neither examine nor biopsy the cancer tissue because of stenosis caused by the radiation colitis. Associated colon cancer should be suspected in patients of radiation colitis when barium enema findings change and serum CEA levels increase. In such cases early laparotomy combined with intraoperative diagnosis is recommended.

Key words
radiation colitis, radiation-induced colon cancer

Reprint requests
Takemi Fukuoka First Department of Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine
1-1-l Hondo, Akita, 010 JAPAN

Accepted
February 12, 1992

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