[Are small-size depressed-type colorectal neoplasias really the expression of a early stage of colorectal cancer. Apropos of a clinical case].

A route of colorectal cancer development other than the adenoma-carcinoma sequence has recently become an issue due to the discovery of the depressed-type early colorectal cancers. Despite the protruding shapes of depressed-type early colorectal cancers, they probably have biological characteristics which differ from those of the usual polyp lesions. They show more aggressive behavior than the polypoid type and can arise de novo. Depressed-type lesions, in contrast to flat-type or protruded-type lesions, tend to invade the submucosa rapidly, so it is better treat them surgically from the outset. We report a case of a small depressed-type colorectal cancer involving the caecum of a 79-year-old male patient.