Emergency laparotomy for spontaneous intestinal and colonic perforations in cancer patients receiving corticosteroids and chemotherapy.

Thirty patients with lymphoma (12), leukemia (two), myeloma (one), or metastatic solid tumors (15) were explored for 31 episodes of spontaneous intestinal perforation during an 11-year period at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Twenty-three patients (76.6%) were receiving corticosteroids alone or in combination with chemotherapy and seven patients (23.4%) were receiving chemotherapy alone at the time of perforation. Fourteen perforations (45%) occurred in the small intestine and 17 perforations (55%) occurred in the colon. Malignancy was histologically demonstrated at the site of perforation in 16 patients (52%). Twenty major postoperative complications occurred in 15 patients (50%) and the operative mortality rate was 53%. Factors such as age, sex, duration or type of symptoms, site of perforation, malignancy at the site of perforation, peripheral leukocyte count, and serum albumin and total protein levels were not significantly related to patient survival. Early diagnosis and aggressive surgical intervention is essential to improve survival following intestinal perforation in this high-risk population.