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As this cancer grows, it begins to invade the wall of the intestine or rectum. It can also invade nearby lymph nodes.
Colon cancer is slightly more common in men than in women. According to figures from the American Cancer Society, each year some 140,250 people in the United States develop this disease and around 50,630 die from this cause, becoming the second leading cause of cancer death in the world.
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According to the charity Bowel Cancer UK, this type of cancer usually occurs in the older age groups: 94% of people diagnosed are over 50 years of age and 59% over 70. But it’s important to remember that bowel cancer can occur at any age, even between the ages of 20 and 40.
Colon cancer symptoms can be easy to miss, and people often attribute variations in bowel movements to inflammation, what they eat, or changes in their body as they age.
For this reason it is best to get medical checkups if the following symptoms occur: changes in bowel habits that last for several days, rectal bleeding, dark stools or blood in the stool, cramps or abdominal (belly) pain, weakness, fatigue, and loss of unintentional weight
Some people may be at higher risk if they have a family history of bowel cancer, if they have an inherited bowel disease such as familial adenomatous polyposis, or hereditary colorectal cancer also known as Lynch syndrome.
People with long-standing inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or who have a history of polyps or adenomas may also be at increased risk. Some other factors that affect can be obesity, smoking, a diet lacking in fiber o Rich in processed and red meats and excessive alcohol consumption.
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- Healthy diet: Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber can help prevent colon cancer. It is recommended to limit the intake of red and processed meats, as well as reduce the consumption of saturated fats and refined sugars.
- Regular physical activity: Staying physically active can lower the risk of colon cancer. It is recommended to get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of intense physical activity each week.
- Keep a healthy weight: Being overweight and obese increase the risk of colon cancer. Maintaining a healthy body weight through a balanced diet and regular physical activity can help reduce that risk.
- Avoid tobacco and alcohol consumption: Excessive smoking and drinking alcohol have been linked to an increased risk of developing colon cancer. Avoiding tobacco use and limiting alcohol intake can contribute to prevention.
- Perform screening tests: Screening tests, such as colonoscopy, can help identify precancerous polyps or colon cancer at an early stage, when it is most treatable. It is important to follow screening recommendations according to medical guidelines and to talk to a health professional about it.
Colon cancer generates malignant cells in the digestive system.
Tabernero, who was the first author of a study demonstrating the effectiveness of a new oral drug for patients in advanced stages of this disease, He admits that the new treatments are improving the survival rate, although he remembers that this is 17 percent at five years in patients who have already developed metastases.
This oncologist acknowledges that until now research into cancer of the digestive tract has been unsuccessful because it deals with very complex tumors, but that, he says, “is now changing.”
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He explains that the complexity of finding an effective therapy is due, in part, to the fact that the cells of the digestive tract “in order to tolerate the nutrients of food and the coexistence of bacteria in the digestive tract well” have an excess of tolerance in the mechanism of defense against non-self proteins, and that reaction backfires by “turning a blind eye” to malignant tumor cells.
That, says Tabernero, must be taken into account when looking for treatments and here personalized medicine, new immunotherapy approaches and techniques such as liquid biopsy, which analyzes the genetic alterations of the tumor in a blood sample, are fundamental.
The study with which the expert worked is called FRESCO2 and was developed with 700 patients with advanced colorectal cancer who had already received all available treatments and were without alternatives. This research demonstrated an increase in median survival from 4.8 to 7.4 months. A modest advance, but in Tabernero’s opinion it opens the door to treatments for this tumor in patients deprived of therapeutic options.
It is important to note that, as with many types of cancer, Colon cancer is curable if detected at an early stage.
