Relevant clinical information and tumor markers.

The preoperative clinical assessment of patients with colorectal cancer provides the surgeon with sufficient information to allow an accurate assessment of operative risks, to plan the extent of resection needed to remove the primary and any associated synchronous lesions, to determine whether perioperative care should be modified to enhance the safety of the proposed surgery (bowel preparation, ureteral catheters, or ostomy placement), to determine operability and probable intent of surgery (curative or palliative), and to determine whether additional, more sophisticated testing is needed to better stage the disease to determine prognosis and ideal treatment. The surgeon, through the process of informed consent, must properly balance these patient and disease factors to select and plan the appropriate treatment that maximizes the potential for cure while minimizing morbidity and mortality.