Westernized eating habits that enjoy sweet and stimulating food have become popular, and delivery culture has developed since the corona pandemic, and the risk of suffering from digestive system diseases has increased for anyone regardless of age. In particular, in the case of digestive diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, and adenomatous polyps, the initial symptoms are not severe, so they are often neglected. In the case of these digestive diseases, when the symptoms become severe, there is a risk of developing colon cancer, which is the second most common cancer in 2021, so we look into it in detail with Sang-moon Bae Sang-moon, an internal medicine specialist at Ulsan Jeil Hospital.
◇Difficult to detect without early symptoms
Colorectal cancer refers to malignant tumors that occur in the appendix, colon, or rectum of the large intestine, which is a digestive organ. Histologically, most adenocarcinomas originate from the mucosa. Rarely, cancers caused by neuroendocrine cell tumors and lymphomas may occur.
In the case of common adenocarcinoma, most have the form of polyps. Therefore, it is very important to check for polyps with a colonoscopy or the like. However, not all polyps develop into cancer. The potential for malignancy is classified according to histological characteristics.
Above all, there is a problem that early detection of colorectal cancer is very difficult because there are no specific subjective symptoms. In particular, major symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and bloody stools all appear only following stage 3 or more has progressed.
Anemia may sometimes occur due to unnoticed intestinal bleeding, but it is often mistaken for an anal disease and is often overlooked. However, there is a clear difference between bloody stools caused by simple anal disease and bloody stools caused by colon cancer. Bloody stools caused by anal diseases usually come out bright red, but in the case of colon cancer, they often fall in more dark red lumps.
Bae Sang-moon, an internal medicine specialist at Ulsan Jeil Hospital, said, “If dark red stools come out, it means that the cancer has already progressed considerably, so it is important to go to the hospital and get an accurate diagnosis when general bloody stool or diarrhea persists.” The reason why the survival rate is higher compared to other cancers is that early detection is possible with endoscopy,” he emphasized.
◇Prevention by removing polyps
In many cases, colon polyps, which are a stage before progressing to colorectal cancer, are immediately removed and prevented in advance. Among polyps, regarding 80% of adenomas that transform into cancer transform into cancer over a long period of regarding 5 to 10 years. As a result, even if you only receive an endoscopy every few years, the probability of early removal increases.
Depending on the location of colon cancer, other symptoms may appear. In the case of right colon cancer, the diameter of the right colon is wider than that of the left colon, so symptoms of obstruction of the colon due to cancer are less likely to appear. In other words, by the time symptoms appear due to cancer, the size of the cancer may have grown considerably. In addition, anemia, lethargy, and black stools are also found.
On the other hand, in the case of the left colon, the diameter is narrow, so symptoms related to obstruction by colon cancer are mainly seen. At this time, changes in bowel habits accompanied by alternating constipation and diarrhea are seen, and bloody stools are seen.
◇Regular colonoscopy is important
10-30% of colorectal cancer is caused by hereditary factors. In the case of genetic factors, familial polyposis and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer occur. In the case of familial polyposis, it appears well in people in their 20s and 30s, and 95% of patients have onset before the age of 45. In the case of hereditary nasal polyposis colorectal cancer, it is a disease with a high risk of getting various cancers, including colorectal cancer. The rest is caused by environmental factors that can be controlled by themselves and prevented by identifying the cause in advance.
In order to diagnose colorectal cancer early, it is important to receive regular colonoscopy through health checkups.
The pear specialist said, “Because polyps do not cause any symptoms, regular colonoscopy for early detection is more recommended. If you have unusual bowel movements or bloody stools, it is better to hurry up for a colonoscopy,” he said. good. If you are over 50 years old, it is recommended to receive it at least once every 4 to 5 years.”
In addition, low physical activity does not dramatically increase the risk of colorectal cancer, but high physical activity can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by regarding 30 to 40%. When you eat meat products, you can reduce the risk of getting colorectal cancer by eating very small amounts.
In addition, dietary fiber intake lowers the risk of colorectal cancer by 43 to 50%, and it is known that increasing dietary fiber intake through vegetables rather than dietary fiber from grains or fruits is more effective in preventing colorectal cancer.
A pear specialist said, “It is also helpful to take a calcium supplement within 1g (1000mg) a day along with drinking milk, which is the main food supply of calcium.” This is because it acts as a deterrent.”
Reporter Jeon Sang-heon [email protected]
