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Colon cancer
What are the early symptoms of colon cancer?
Colorectal cancer clinically falls under the category of colon cancer, and many early cases of colon cancer do not have obvious symptoms. Some patients in the early stages may experience abdominal bloating and discomfort or a sense of dull pain. This pain is generally mild and occurs intermittently, sometimes more frequently at night. Some patients exhibit repeated constipation or repeated diarrhea, a feeling of incomplete bowel evacuation, and the presence of blood in the stool or the passage of mucoid pus and blood in the stool. Other patients may experience mild belching, nausea, vomiting, and other signs of indigestion. The symptoms of early-stage colon cancer are not typical, and many patients only seek medical attention when they experience more severe symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and vomiting.
Is stage II colon adenocarcinoma serious?
Colon adenocarcinoma grade II, here the grade II generally refers to moderately differentiated, which is more severe than well-differentiated but relatively less severe than poorly differentiated or undifferentiated. However, the main criteria for assessing the severity of colon adenocarcinoma are not the degree of differentiation, but the depth of invasion, whether there is metastasis to nearby lymph nodes, and whether there is metastasis to distant organs. Based on the different situations mentioned above, different treatment methods should also be adopted. For patients with stage I colon cancer, surgical resection alone is sufficient. For patients with stage II and III colon cancer, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is needed in addition to surgical resection. For stage IV patients, systemic treatment is primarily conducted.
How to deal with Stage II colon cancer?
For patients diagnosed pathologically with stage II colon cancer, postoperative adjuvant therapy should be considered as appropriate. Colon cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract in China, originating from the mucosa of the colon, with adenocarcinoma being the most common pathological type. Patients presenting symptoms such as bloody stools or changes in stool shape should be considered for a diagnosis of colon cancer. Those suspected of colon cancer should undergo a colonoscopy as soon as possible. During the colonoscopy, colon mass can be detected, and tissue can be taken from the mass for pathological biopsy. For patients definitively diagnosed with colon cancer, surgery is the preferred treatment. After surgery, patients whose postoperative pathology confirms stage II often require postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, typically lasting up to six months.
Is having dry stools every day colon cancer?
Dry stools every day can be a clinical manifestation of colon cancer, often due to lesions in the colon caused by the invasion of cancer. Sometimes, it is caused by cancerous bowel obstruction. In addition to dry stools, some patients may also experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and constipation. However, daily dry stools are not solely caused by colon cancer; some benign intestinal diseases can also lead to this condition, such as chronic constipation or melanosis coli, where patients may experience daily hard stools. Moreover, if dry stools occur daily and persist over a long period, they can potentially lead to malignant changes. Therefore, patients with daily dry stools should regularly undergo colonoscopy to prevent any pathological changes that might have progressed to cancer. Prompt treatment should be administered if the condition worsens.
Is colon cancer invading the submucosa early stage?
The lesion of colon cancer has invaded the submucosa, which could be either early stage or advanced stage, as the staging of colon cancer is determined by three factors. First is the primary lesion of the colon cancer itself, second is the regional lymph node metastasis, and third is distant metastasis. The invasion of the submucosa in colon cancer is just indicative of the status of the primary lesion; we also need to consider the regional lymph nodes and distant metastasis to determine the stage. If the lesion has invaded the submucosa without regional lymph node metastasis and no distant metastasis, then its clinical stage is early. If the lesion of colon cancer has not only invaded the submucosa but also has regional lymph node metastasis or has metastasized to distant organs, then the condition would be considered as advanced stage.
Can late-stage colon cancer be completely removed by surgery?
In clinical practice, for patients with mid-to-late-stage colon cancer, even after curative surgical resection, it is often difficult to completely remove the tumor. This is because by the mid-to-late stages, the colon cancer has typically started to invade surrounding tissues. Despite curative surgery, patients may still have subclinical lesions, which are typically hard to detect either under a microscope or with the naked eye. The presence of these subclinical lesions leads to a higher likelihood of recurrence and metastasis after curative surgery in mid-to-late-stage colon cancer patients. Therefore, to reduce the rates of recurrence and metastasis, it is common clinical practice to administer adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy after the curative surgical resection for patients with mid-to-late-stage colon cancer, aiming to decrease the risk of cancer recurrence and metastasis.
What should be done after the complete removal of colon cancer?
After surgical removal of colon cancer, the postoperative treatment strategy should be determined based on the precise staging of the cancer according to the surgical pathology. If the colon cancer has invaded the mucosal layer and the submucosal layer, or the muscular layer, it is staged as stage I; postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is not required, and regular follow-up is sufficient. If the colon cancer reaches stage II or III, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is needed to reduce the risk of postoperative recurrence and metastasis. Stage IV colon cancer does not fall under the aforementioned conditions of clean removal of the cancer.
What is the likelihood of metastasis for colon cancer with a certain Ki-67 index?
Currently, the Ki67 index in colon cancer cannot be used as a predictive factor for metastasis. Ki67 reflects the proliferation index of the tumor and is related to the malignancy level of the tumor, but it is not possible to judge the risk of subsequent metastasis based on the Ki67 value. The factors that can be used to assess the risk of postoperative metastasis in colon cancer mainly include the depth of local invasion of the colon cancer, whether there is lymph node metastasis, and the presence of certain specific gene mutations. The deeper the invasion, the higher the risk of metastasis. Patients with lymph node metastasis have a higher risk of distant recurrence and metastasis compared to those without detected lymph node metastasis.
Can baby's stool with blood be colon cancer?
Blood in the stool of babies is different from that in adults. In infants and young children, due to weaker gastrointestinal digestive functions, inappropriate feeding, changes in diet structure, or abnormal gastrointestinal functions can all lead to the presence of blood in the stool, which is usually not due to colon cancer. Therefore, if a child has persistent blood in their stool accompanied by either no weight gain or weight loss, or other abnormal symptoms, and if there is a suspicion of cancer-related factors, parents should promptly take the child to a hospital for a thorough examination. In most cases, blood in a baby's stool is commonly due to poor digestion of the gastrointestinal tract or from gastroenteritis caused by viruses or bacteria due to an increase in the frequency of bowel movements, or it could be due to severe constipation in the baby, where factors like anal fissures might also lead to blood in the stool.
What causes colon cancer?
Colorectal cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive system, and its occurrence is related to the following factors: First, dietary factors. A high-fat content and a low fiber content in the diet both lead to an increased incidence of colorectal cancer. Furthermore, long-term consumption of pickled foods can also increase the incidence of colorectal cancer, presumably because these foods contain higher levels of nitrosamine carcinogens. Second, some benign chronic diseases of the colon, such as adenomatous polyps and certain chronic colitis, can also lead to an increased incidence of colorectal cancer. Third, environmental factors. Epidemiological studies have found that the occurrence of colorectal cancer is related to geographical distribution. In some environments with a high incidence of colorectal cancer, the content of some trace elements in the soil is too low, leading to a high incidence of colorectal cancer.