RELEVANT CLINICAL INFORMATION AND TUMOR-MARKERS

The preoperative clinical assessment of patients with colorectal cance r provides the surgeon with sufficient information to allow an accurat e assessment of operative risks, to plan the extent of resection neede d to remove the primary and any associated synchronous lesions, to det ermine whether perioperative care should be modified to enhance the sa fety of the proposed surgery (bowel preparation, ureteral catheters, o r ostomy placement), to determine operability and probable intent of s urgery (curative or palliative), and to determine whether additional, more sophisticated testing is needed to better stage the disease to de termine prognosis and ideal treatment. The surgeon, through the proces s of informed consent, must properly balance these patient and disease factors to select and plan the appropriate treatment that maximizes t he potential for cure while minimizing morbidity and mortality.