Epidemiology of cancers: I. Cancerous diseases of the large bowel.

A pilot study of cancerous diseases of the large bowel in Canterbury is described. The experience of 346 patients derived from the Cancer Registry for 1970-72 is presented. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated with the identification of guidelines for future work. The preliminary results suggest some special features in New Zealand. While demographic characteristics do not appear to help in defining persons at high risk from cancerous diseases of the large bowel, nevertheless other features of the natural history of this disorder indicate that it might be feasible to define high risk profiles.