Annals of Coloproctology  2013;29(4):167-171

doi:10.3393/ac.2013.29.4.167

Colon Cancer After Acute Diverticulitis Treatment.

Kwang Hoon OH 1 ; Koon Hee HAN ; Eun Jung KIM ; Je Hoon LEE ; Kyu Un CHOI ; Myung Sik HAN ; Jae Hong AHN ; Gab Jin CHEON

Affiliations

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Keywords

Acute diverticulitis; Colon cancer; Colonoscopy

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

Diverticulitis is the most common clinical complication of diverticular disease, affecting 10-25% of the patients with diverticula. The prevalences of diverticulitis and colon cancer tend to increase with age and are higher in industrialized countries. Consequently, diverticulitis and colon cancer have been reported to have similar epidemiological characteristics. However, the relationship between these diseases remains controversial, as is the performance of routine colonoscopy after an episode of diverticulitis to exclude colon cancer. Recently, we experienced three cases of colon cancer after treating acute diverticulitis, based on which we suggest the importance of follow-up colonoscopy after acute diverticulitis.