Quality-of-life management of patients with colorectal cancer.

We have reviewed management of the patient with colorectal cancer both after primary treatment and in the palliative setting. Although we have addressed quantitative measures of quality of life as applied to patients with colorectal cancer, the limitations of combining disparate variables that encompass morbidity, an idealized lifestyle, and personal variation in interpretation of that lifestyle into a single number or point on a graph are self-evident. The caring family physician has a better intuitive integration of patient complexity than does the outcomes analyst.

MRI for evaluation of perianal inflammation.

Background: We describe the value of using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in six distinct clinical settings often encountered in cases of perirectal inflammatory disease.

Methods: MRI was performed on six patients with known perianal inflammatory disease; the number, anatomic extent, location, and signal intensities of various lesions and their associated complications were assessed.

Results: MRI is a noninvasive technique that is useful in the diagnosis and management of perirectal inflammatory disease.

Gender and colorectal cancer.

Studies of gender differences in colorectal cancer have shown temporal shifts in incidence and site distribution which can be attributed, in part, to environmental and behavioural factors. In high-risk populations, rectal cancer and left-sided colon cancer have been more frequent in older men, whereas right-sided colon cancer has been more commonly found in older women. Among known associations with reduced colorectal cancer risk, women appear to ingest more dietary fibre, seem to benefit more from physical activity and body mass, and consume less alcohol.

Treatment options for the patient with colorectal cancer.

Treatment decisions for patients with colorectal cancer depend on the site and extent of the cancer. Medical factors rarely preclude appropriate treatment. For colonic and upper rectal cancer, curative treatment is almost entirely operative.