Efforts are underway to develop better screening strategies and novel therapies to improve patient survival rates and to minimize toxicity. Pathophysiology The majority of colon cancers are adenocarcinomas (Buda & Pignatelli, 2004)
Colon Cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women in the United States (Cappell, 2005)
Bcl2 overexpression leading to inhibition of cell death signaling has been observed as a relatively early event in colon cancer development. Another predisposing condition is hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer, which is a condition in which individuals inherit a mutation in one of several genes involved in DNA mismatch repair, including MSH2, MLH1, and PMS2 (Guimbaud & Selves, 2003)
Colon Cancer Risk Factors Several risk factors have been associated with colon cancer. Colonic polyps, which occur with increasing age, represent a risk for colon cancer development (Kronborg, 2004)
No association exists between frequency of bowel movement or laxative use and risk of colon cancer. Colon Cancer Classifications Colon cancer may be classified by severity using the Dukes classification (Rougier, Clavero-Fabri, & Mitry, 1999), which is described below
It is the third leading cause of cancer in males and the fourth leading cause of cancer in females globally, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) results in 655,000 deaths world wide per year. (Lee, 2007; WHO Fact-sheet on Cancer, 2006) This paper gives general information about colon cancer including its signs and symptoms, causes / risk factors, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment
This is because a tumor at the far end of the colon or the rectum could cause an obstruction for the stool to come out easily; thus causing constipation. Such obstruction may also lead to narrow stools as the waste material attempts to maneuver around the tumor (Myers, 2008)
The potential imaging tests including MRI and PET are used in certain extreme cases. Staging of colon cancer is achieved through basing inclusion on TNM systems and determining how the initial tumors spread (Acton, 2013)
Inflammatory bowel disease is another risk factor that involves ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Such inherited conditions causing colorectal cancer evolve from hereditary non-polyposis and familial adenomatous polyposis colon cancer (Peterson, 2014)
The cancer is caused by abnormal increase of cells with an ability of invading or spreading to subsequent body parts. Symptoms and signs of the cancer include blood in human stool, weight loss, changes in bowel movements, and continuously feeling tired (Young, Hobbs & Kerr, 2011)