Primary colo-rectal linitis plastica type of carcinoma: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Linitis Plastica type of carcinoma can arise primarily in the colon or rectum. Fifty-two cases have been reported in the English medical literature over a 50-yr period. Two new cases are described. One patient had primary linitis plastica of the ascending colon, the other being in the rectum. Both patients died of widespread malignancy within 10 mth of diagnosis, the fate of most of the reported cases. This rare manifestation of colo-rectal carcinoma carries an ominous prognosis.