Impact of revisions of the JS']JSCCR guidelines on the treatment of T1 colorectal carcinomas in Japan

Purpose: In 1977, the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum (JSCCR) published the first edition of the general guidelines that described how to record clinical and histopathological findings of colorectal carcinomas (CRCs) and how to treat these cancers, and since then, the guidelines were revised several times. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the revisions of the JSCCR guidelines on the treatment of submucosal CRCs (T1-CRCs) in Japanese clinical settings. Methods: Questionnaires were sent to all 391 member institutions of the JSCCR. The questionnaires consisted of 2 parts: details of the institutions and treatment strategies for T1-CRCs. Results: 73 (19 %) institutions responded to the survey. The number of treated T1-CRCs has increased year by year, and the rate of endoscopic resection for T1-CRCs has significantly increased with revisions of the guidelines (1417 [47 %] of 2985 T1-CRCs in 2003 - 2005, 2110 [50 %] of 4212 in 2006 - 2008, and 2546 [54 %] of 4686 in 2009 - 2011, P<.05). Conclusion: The revisions of the JSCCR guidelines have influenced the treatment of T1-CRCs in Japanese clinical settings. There is room to revise the criteria for curative endoscopic resection to avoid unnecessary surgeries.