Gastric surgery and the risk of subsequent colorectal cancer.

A matched case control study has been conducted in order to determine whether an association exists between gastric surgery and the subsequent development of colorectal carcinoma. Two hundred and eighty-nine patients (151 women and 138 men) presenting with large bowel cancer have been studied. Case controls were matched according to age, sex and date of admission. The case notes of each patient in the study were reviewed to determine the prevalence of peptic ulceration and gastric surgery. Significantly more patients with colorectal carcinoma had undergone gastric surgery P less than 0.05, although the prevalence of peptic ulceration was similar in both groups. Colorectal carcinoma is more common in patients who have undergone gastric surgery for benign peptic ulcer disease than in the general population.