To clarify the morphologic progression pattern of colorectal cancers of the depressed-type, we correlated colonoscopic appearance of 65 such tumors with depth of invasion. The assessed colonoscopic findings included expansile appearance, depth of surface depression, irregularity of the base of the depression and mucosal folds converging toward the tumor. Colonoscopic findings of submucosal cancers and cancers with invasion of the muscularis propria were retrospectively reviewed. We found progression of these cancers to be associated with deeper depression, greater expansion, and more irregularity of shape as invasion progressed and mucosal folds increasingly converged toward the tumor. Colonoscopic findings (including expansile appearance, depth of surface depression, irregularity of the depression, and mucosal fold convergence toward the tumor) correlate with morphologic progression in depressed-type colorectal cancers.

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