Surgical management of colon and rectal cancer.

Adenocarcinoma, the most common malignant lesion of the colon and rectum, accounts for approximately 148,000 diagnosed cases and 56,000 deaths per year. Management of this disease comprises a large portion of the practice of colorectal surgery. This article describes the current concepts of surgical management of adenocarcnoma of the colon and rectum. Surgical options are reviewed following a brief discussion of diagnosis.