The relationship between morphological characteristics of early colorectal cancer under the white light endoscopy and its infiltration depth

Objective To study the relationship between morphological characteristics of early colorectal cancer under the white light endoscopy and its infiltration depth by comparing the morphological differences between colorectal cancer within the mucosa and submucosal carcinoma. Methods Data of early colorectal cancer cases which were detected by colonoscopy and confirmed by pathology, at digestive endoscopy center of Beijing Military Region General Hospital between January 2010 and September 2015 were retrospectively studied. The relationship between the morphological characteristics and the tumor invasive depth was analyzed. Results There were 319 early colorectal cancer cases enrolled, most of which were located in the rectum and sigmoid colon. Two hundred and fifty-nine cases were intramucosal carcinoma, while sixty cases were submucosal cancer. There was no significant difference between mucosal carcinoma and submucosal carcinoma in their diameters. But the diameter of all submucosal carcinomas was larger than 1 cm. The most common macroscopic morphology of 0-Ⅰs type was submucosal carcinoma. 51.7% (31/60)submucosal carcinomas showed epressed area with clear boundary, 23.3%(14/60)showed fullness on the surface, visible ulceration or errhysis on surface could be seen in 20.0%(12/60) lesions.These characteristics were statistically significant in judging whether the lesion was mucosal cancer or submucosal cancer (P<0.05). Conclusion Early colorectal cancer of 0-Ⅰs type, and the morphological characteristics of epressed area with clear boundary, fullness, ulceration or errhysis on surface under the white light endoscopy are helpful in the determination of submucosal cancer. Key words: Colorectal neoplasms; Colonoscopy; White light endoscopy; Morphological characteristics; Infiltration depth