Digestive tumors are tumors that form in the digestive tract. The digestive tract is made up of the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, anus, and may also include the pancreas and liver. Cancer can form in any of these organs.
The most frequent digestive tumors are of the adenocarcnioma type and in the esophagus there are also squamous tumors. Medical Oncology specialists state that a less frequent variety are the neuroendocrine tumors that have a totally different treatment.
The cause of digestive tumors depends to some extent on the organ involved. The most frequent are diet-related tumors and the consumption of very hot food favors the development of esophageal and gastric cancer. On the other hand, the presence of helicobacter pylori bacteria is related to the appearance of gastric tumors. Smoked fish and diets rich in meat favor the development of colon cancer.
A small portion are hereditary in origin.
Symptoms of digestive tumors
The symptoms of a digestive tumor depend on the organ it affects. A common symptom in all is weight loss, loss of appetite and anemia, the latter possibly related to bleeding. In some cases, these types of tumors may present pain.
In cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract, the most characteristic symptoms are dysphagia and satiety after a small amount of food intake. A change in the evacuatory habit is a predominant symptom in colon tumors, as is the presence of settled stool and bleeding.
Diagnosis of digestive tumors
The way to diagnose this type of disease is by performing a physical examination, where the tumor can be palpated in the abdominal mass or in the rectal examination.
The main thing is the clinical and physical examination, where the symptoms previously described will be observed and in the physical examination an abdominal mass can be palpated or in the rectal examination the presence of a tumor.
As complementary methods, a CT scan, MRI and/or endoscopy, both high and low, can be performed. These tests are essential to complete the diagnosis, which must always be confirmed by taking a biopsy.
Treatment of digestive tumors
The treatment of digestive tumors depends on the stage of the disease. If it is a localized disease, i.e. it does not affect another organ or has not metastasized, the treatment to be performed is surgery. In some cases, this technique needs to be accompanied by complementary chemotherapy treatment.
In the case of rectal or esophageal cancer, neoadjuvant treatments or chemotherapy plus radiotherapy are performed.