Colon Cancer

What is Colon Cancer?

One type of cancer that begins in the large intestine and spreads throughout the body is called colon cancer (colon). The last part of the digestive system is the colon. Colon cancer can affect anyone at any age, but it is more common in the elderly. Polyps are small, benign (noncancerous) cell clusters that grow inside the colon and are typically the first sign of the disease. Over time, some of these polyps may develop into colon cancer. Few, if any, symptoms may be present with small polyps. Because of this, medical professionals recommend routine screening tests to help prevent colon cancer by identifying and eliminating polyps before they develop into cancer.

Colon cancer can be managed with a variety of therapies, such as radiation therapy, surgery, and pharmacological treatments like immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy.

Asarfi oncology department excels at offering top-notch cancer treatment because of their combined more than 30 years of clinical excellence. Our oncologists and onco-surgeons treat all types and forms of cancer using a multidisciplinary approach. They are assisted by a team of highly skilled reconstructive surgeons who treat all of our patients, both adults and children, with extensive care, as well as by the newest cancer treatment technologies.

Types

Adenocarcinoma is the most prevalent type of colon cancer, accounting for most cases. Some tumours are also less common than others.

Adenocarcinoma

The most prevalent kind of colon cancer is called adenocarcinoma. This kind of colon cancer targets the cells lining the colon's interior.

Cancerous Tumours

Hormone-producing cells in the intestines are where carcinoid tumours start.

Cancer of the lymph nodes

Cancer of the immune system is lymphoma. Though it can start in the colon, it usually starts in the lymph nodes.

Tumours of the gastrointestinal stroma

Soft tissue sarcomas, such as gastrointestinal stromal tumours, are rare in the colon but can develop anywhere in the digestive tract. These tumours may be caused by other types of sarcoma that originate in the colon's connective tissue or blood vessels.

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Symptoms

You should be aware of these symptoms as they may be signs of colon cancer:

• Stomach Ache
• Involuntary weight loss
• Ahememia
• Abrupt weakness or fatigue
• Bleeding in the rectal area
• The diarrhoea
• Constipation

Many patients have colon cancer in its early stages and exhibit no symptoms at all. Depending on the size and location of the cancer in your large intestine, your symptoms may change.

Causes

Doctors believe that unknown factors cause the majority of colon cancers:

Generally speaking, DNA mutations in healthy colon cells lead to the development of colon cancer. A cell is programmed to do certain tasks by instructions found in its DNA. Your body needs regular cell division and expansion to function properly. But when a cell's DNA breaks and it turns malignant, it keeps dividing even though it doesn't need to produce new cells. A tumour grows as a result of the cell division.

Over time, cancer cells have the capacity to encroach upon and kill adjacent normal tissue. Moreover, cancerous cells possess the capacity to spread to different regions of the body and form deposits there (metastasis).

Extra Risk Elements

Age: We are more likely to develop colorectal polyps and cancer as we age. While colorectal cancer is more common in people over 50, it can still strike people in their younger years.

Other Medical Conditions: Type 2 diabetes, a history of cancer in the past, Lynch syndrome, and familial adenomatous polyposis are among the medical conditions that can increase your risk of colorectal cancer.

Stages

Clinically, colorectal cancer is described by the stages at which it is found. The different stages of colorectal cancer (metastases) are identified by the degree of invasion through the gut wall, the involvement of lymph nodes (the drainage nodules), and the dissemination to other organs.:

• Stage 0: Colon cancer in this stage only affects the mucosa, or innermost lining of the colon.
• Stage I: In stage I colon cancer, the tumour has grown past the inner lining of the colon but remains inside the colon and has not spread to the lymph nodes. Little organs called lymph nodes are a component of the immune system and function as filters.
• Stage II: The thick outer muscle layer of the colon has allowed the colon cancer to spread, but it has not reached the lymph nodes.
• Stage III: One or more lymph nodes outside of the colon have been affected by stage III colon cancer.
• Stage VI: At this point, the liver and lungs are among the other body parts where the colon cancer has spread. It's possible that the lymph nodes have been affected by the cancer.

Diagnosis

Colorectal cancer can be diagnosed using a range of tests. You may be diagnosed with this illness if you show symptoms or if a screening test reveals something unusual to your carer. In order to make a diagnosis, your doctor might perform the following tests:

• Blood Tests: Your doctor may order tests for liver enzymes, tumour markers, and a complete blood count to determine the nature of your illness.
• Imaging Tests: Among the imaging tests recommended to diagnose cancer are X-rays, CT, MRI, PET, ultrasound, and angiography.
• Diagnostic Colonoscopy: This test is performed in response to symptoms, not as part of a regular screening procedure.
• Proctoscopy: Standard screening examinations are carried out before any symptoms appear. The above is a detailed description of these tests.

Treatment

Although there are other factors that may come into play, the stage of colon cancer largely dictates the course of treatment.
For patients with colon cancer who have not yet spread to other parts of their body, surgery is typically the primary or initial course of treatment. Chemotherapy can also be administered as an adjuvant treatment after surgery.

• Targeted Therapy : By attaching to or obstructing particular proteins that arise on the surface of cancer cells, targeted therapy aims to specifically target cancer cells, preventing them from proliferating or dividing.
• Neoadjuvant Therapy: This modality is well-known for its ability to reduce the size of the tumour. This facilitates the surgical removal of the cancerous growth.
• Immunotherapy: This kind of cancer treatment stimulates the patient's immune system to fight the tumour cells in their body. This treatment is popular because it is known to have a tenth of the side effects of chemotherapy.

Describe chemotherapy

The use of drugs to destroy cancer cells is known as chemotherapy. Chemotherapy drugs can be taken orally (through the mouth) as a pill or intravenously (via a vein) as an injection or pump. Each medication targets a particular type of cancer and is administered at specific intervals and dosages. Advanced colorectal tumours that have spread to lymph nodes (drainage nodules) or other organs may require chemotherapy.

There are many applications for chemotherapy, such as:

• Primary chemotherapy is used when colorectal cancer has metastasized, or spread, to other organs like the liver or lungs. In this instance, chemotherapy can reduce tumour nodules, alleviate symptoms, and increase survival time because surgery typically cannot eradicate cancer.
• Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is administered prior to surgery for specific rectal tumours in order to minimise the tumour and facilitate its easier removal by the surgeon. In this instance, radiation therapy is often administered to the patient in addition to chemotherapy.
• When appropriate, adjuvant chemotherapy is administered following surgical excision of the colorectal cancer. After surgery, some cancer cells might still be present in the lymph nodes or other organs because they weren't completely removed. Any cancer cells that are left over after surgery are eliminated with adjuvant chemotherapy.