[The assessment of the risk of large bowel cancer in patients operated on cholecystolithiasis].

In the recent years reports have become available suggesting more frequent incidence of colorectal cancer in patients who earlier had cholecystectomy performed as well as in those with unoperated cholecystolithiasis. The divergent views of many authors became the cause of studying of the incidence of past cholecystectomy and cholecystolithiasis in patients operated on for colorectal cancer and comparing of this incidence with that in the control group selected on the basis of own material. The incidence of cholecystectomy and unoperated cholecystolithiasis was assessed in 90 patients treated for colorectal cancer of various location and was compared with the control group of 90 patients treated for other reasons than neoplastic disease. Both groups were selected with respect to gender, age and hospitalisation duration. In the analysis performed no significantly greater frequency of cholecystectomy and cholecystolithiasis was found in patients with colorectal cancer as compared to the control group. Such difference was neither observed considering cancer location and gender of the studied subjects (p < 0.05). Taking into account age over 60 years, more frequent cholecystectomy was found in the case of cancer of the right half of the colon in both genders in the group of patients with colorectal cancer as compared to the control group (p = 0.031). The relative risk for cancer development was in this case 4.5. In these patients cholecystectomy was performed 14.9 years on the average before cancer diagnosis. The patients in older age with cholecystolithiasis should be evaluated for the presence of coexistent colorectal cancer prior to laparoscopic cholecystectomy.