Value of X-ray examination in diagnosis of carcinoma in chronic ulcerative colitis

The risk factors of carcinogenesis in cases of chronic ulcerative colitis are discussed on the basis of a review of the literature, and the incidence of cancer in our own patients (3%) is compared with data in the literature. The limitations of radiological procedures for carcinoma diagnosis in cases of chronic ulcerative colitis are elucidated by discussion of the histogenesis and macropathology of the colitis carcinoma. The necessity for endoscopic-bioptic examination methods can be deduced from the frequent coincidence of dysplasias and colon carcinomas as well as from the great number of carcinomas not recognizable macroscopically. (orig.)