THREE CASES OF OBSTRUCTIVE COLITIS SECONDARY TO CARCINOMA OF THE COLON AND RECTUM

We experienced three cases of obstructive colitis secondary to carcinoma of the colon and rectum. These cases were outlined with a review of cases reported in Japan and with reference to the literature.Case 1: A 61-year-old woman. A longitudinal ulcer 30 cm in length was observed on the side adherent to the mesenterium through an area of normal mucosa 6 cm in size proximal to a Borrmann type-II cancer of the rectum (Rs). Case 2: A 67-year-old man. Diffuse ulceration was observed over an area 25 cm in length through 1.2 cm of normal mucosa proximal to a Borrmann type-I carcinoma of the sigmoid colon. Case 3: A 67-year-old woman. A longitudinal ulcer 9 cm in length was observed on the side adherent to the mesenterium through 4 cm of normal mucosa proximal to a Borrmann type-II cancer of the rectum (Rs).This condition is characterized by interposition of normal mucosa between the obstructive lesion and the ulcer. A review of the cases reported in Japan revealed no case with a normal mucosa of 20 cm or more and a tendency for the ulcerative lesion to extend in a proximal direction when the length of the interposed normal mucosa is short. These phenomena are considered to be an indicator for determining the range of colo-rectal resection.