Dukes' classification.

DEFINITION: Dr. Cuthbert E. Dukes (1890-1977) was a pathologist who developed the classification for operable colon or rectal cancer. He began his studies at St. Mark’s Hospital in 1922 and published the Dukes’ classification in 1932. Through many years of examining the various clinical stages and prognoses of patients diagnosed with rectal cancer, he was able to develop a pathological classification system that reflected the prognosis based on three categories: A, B, and C. Dukes’ classification has been modified to include B1 and B2 as well as C1 and C2. Dr. Vernon Astler and Dr. Fredrick Coller later modified Dukes’ classification to include a fourth stage, D.