Carcinoma of the colon in children: a report of six new cases and a review of the literature.

Of six children with carcinoma of the colon, none had ulcerative colitis or a family history of carcinoma of the colon or colonic polyposis. In 75 cases traced in the literature, a common early symptom of carcinoma of the colon in children is acute, crampy abdominal pain. At laparotomy for suspected appendictis, the possibility of the acute pain being due to carcinoma of the colon should be borne in mind. Otherwise the symptoms of carcinoma of the colon in children do not differ substantially from those in adults. The prognosis is unfavorable; in only 2.5% of the cases on record did the children survive 5 yr after the operation.