OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical and pathological features of synchronous colorectal carcinomas and explore the specificity of treatment for those patients.

METHODSA retrospective evaluation of 326 patients with primary colorectal cancer were performed. The patients were divided into two groups: single cases (303 patients) and synchronous cases (23 patients, index cancer and second cancer). Clinical characteristics, routine pathological findings in the two groups were compared statistically.

RESULTSThere was no difference in location of the lesions between the single cases and the index lesions of synchronous cases, while the differentiation and Ducke stage of index lesions were better than those in single cases. The secondary cancer of synchronous cases showed better grades and stages than those of single cases. The frequencies of complicating adenoma and multiple polyps in synchronous cases were higher significantly than those in single cases, with the rate of 34.8% and 78.3%, 11.6% and 42.2%, respectively. All malignant lesions were resected radically, and multiple polyps (56.9%) were electro-resected under colonoscopy at 2 approximately 3 months after the carcinomas were radically resected. Of the patients complicated with adenomas, 79.1% (34 cases) were given one-stage local resection or local colectomy and the rest were given second stage electro-resection.

CONCLUSIONSFor the clinical and pathological features of synchronous colorectal carcinomas, it is essential to perform a complete evaluation of all colorectal lesions, establish an individual surgical treatment and follow-up in time.