Colon cancer occurs in the colon or rectum, also known as the large intestine. Because of its high prevalence, screening is essential.
What are the risk factors?
According to the WHO, in Spain the affectation of colon cancer in 2014 was 19,261 cases in men and 12,979 cases in women. The main risk factor is the low socioeconomic level. This increases the chances that colon cancer may develop, due to the low screening rate among this part of the population. In turn, age is another risk factor for cancer. The risk increases in the group of people from 40-50 years of age. However, it has been observed that there has been an increase in the group of people under 50 years of age. Some data exemplify a risk in incidence in young adults aged 20-39 years.
For what reasons is it important to screen for increased risk of colon cancer?
- Family history of hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes
- Acromegaly
- African-American race
- Renal transplant recipients
- Family history of adenomatous polyps or sporadic colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer and its risk factors
- Obesity
- Diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance
- Consumption of red meat and processed meat
- Smoking
- Alcoholism
- Use of androgen suppression therapy
- Cholecystectomy
What is colorectal cancer screening?
The ultimate goal of colorectal cancer screening at the population level is to learn more about a disease that is present in the entire population and to diagnose this disease in its early stages before the risk of cancer becomes evident to the patient. The colorectal cancer prevention program is a phase that begins with raising public awareness of the importance of colon cancer and ends with the follow-up and treatment of patients with pathological findings. The aim is to advance the time of diagnosis, in order to be able to detect colorectal cancer at an early stage that allows its curative treatment and thus reduce mortality.
To diagnose and detect polypoid lesions and/or colorectal cancer, colonoscopy is of paramount importance. The American Academy of Gastroenterology of the United States values colonoscopy as the screening test par excellence. Colonoscopy allows an accurate exploration of the entire course of the colon and allows the taking of biopsies or the removal of various types of lesions, especially polyps.
Disadvantages of Colonoscopy
There is a risk of hemorrhage or perforation. However, this problem occurs in one out of every thousand explorations.