This book is based on the proceedings of a successful Boerhaave International Symposium on colorectal cancer held at the University of Leiden, 6-9 June, 1979. I would like to offer grateful thanks to the eminent clinicians and scientists who contributed both to the Symposium and to this book. Colorectal cancer is a very common form of malignancy, particularly in the Western world, and there have been a number of recent developments in the management of this condition. This book has attempted to collate informa tion on the current methods of investigation and treatment and I believe that it will prove valuable to all those interested in oncology. The contents range widely, covering the entire field from epidemiology through screening methods, diagnostic approaches and therapy of both primary and secondary disease. Perhaps the most outstanding new areas discussed and reflected in the proceedings are the possible range and scope of screening techniques, the new possibilities both in treatment and in endoscopic surgery now available as a result of developments in fibre-optic endoscopy, and new approaches and important parameters in staging of the disease.

Inhalt
I. General Aspects.- 1. Epidemiology of colorectal cancer.- 2. Bacterial factors in the aetiology of large bowel cancer.- 3. Clinical diagnosis of colorectal cancer.- 4. Prognostic factors in staging of colorectal cancer.- 5. Cytology of colorectal carcinoma.- 6. Pathological aspects of colorectal carcinoma.- II. Diagnostic Procedures.- 7. Screening with occult blood testing.- 8. Mass screening.- 9. Colonoscopy as a screening procedure?.- III. Individuals at Risk.- 10. Dietary, environmental, and hereditary factors in the development of colorectal cancer.- 11. The pathology of polyps of the large bowel.- 12. Polyposis coli.- IV. Adenomas of the Colon.- 13. Clinical significance of a polyp.- 14. The clinical significance of a villous adenoma.- 15. Endoscopic polypectomy.- 16. Surgery of colonic polyps.- V. Treatment.- 17. Radiotherapy of inoperable or recurrent cancer of the rectum and rectosigmoid.- 18. Pre- or postoperative radiation in resectable tumors.- 19. Cryotherapy in rectal carcinoma.- 20. Electrofulguration for rectal cancer.- 21. The extent of the resection.- 22. Cancer of the colon.- 23. The current status of the pull-through procedure for rectal cancer.- 24. The transsphincteric approach.- 25. Surgical treatment of liver metastases from colorectal cancer.- 26. Magnetic colostomy.- 27. Colostomy care.- VI. Postoperative Management.- 28. Chemotherapy in metastatic disease.- 29. The management of pain in colorectal cancer.- 30. Follow-up: frequency and methods.