From January 1987 to December 1990, five cases of early depressed cancer of the large intestine were seen. Endoscopically, almost all of these tumors were located in the proximal colon and looked like a reddish depression (similar to the sucker of an octopus). Histologically, all of these cancers were well differentiated and tended to reach deeper layers at an early stage. Four (80%) of these cancers were not associated with adenoma and were thought to have arisen de novo.