Colorectal cancer

Introduction: Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer refers to cancer of the colon (bowel) or cancer of the rectum, depending on the region affected. It is an under-diagnosed condition because it has no early symptoms. Even when symptoms occur, both the symptoms and the diagnostic tests required are considered embarrassing by many, leading to delayed diagnosis. However, early diagnosis is crucial as colon cancer is a leading cause of death.

Symptoms of Colorectal cancer

• No early symptoms
• Change in bowel habits
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Unfinished bowel movement feeling

See full list of 17 symptoms of Colorectal cancer

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Colorectal cancer:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Colorectal cancer

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Colorectal cancer

• Fecal occult blood test (FOBT)
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy
• Colonoscopy
• Polypectomy - removal of a polyp, which may help in diagnosis of cancer.
• Double contrast barium enema (DCBE)

See full list of 9 diagnostic tests for Colorectal cancer

Wrongly Diagnosed with Colorectal cancer?

• Misdiagnosis of Colorectal cancer
• Failure to diagnose Colorectal cancer
• Underlying causes of Colorectal cancer (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Colorectal cancer

Misdiagnosis and Colorectal cancer

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal imbalance. The digestive system...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad" bacteria, but...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e. food poisoning). In fact, it's more likely to be an ...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed ...read more »

Spitz nevi misdiagnosed as dangerous melanoma skin cancer: One possible misdiagnosis to consider in lieu of melanoma is spitz nevi. See melanoma and spitz nevi....read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of...read more »

Carcinoma right colon: Carcinoma of the right colon is not clinically apparent to the physician as that of the carcinoma of left colon as the...read more »

Treat chronic diarrhoea seriously: Diarrhoea can be quite frightening and stressful for the patient. Serious disorders such as colorectal carcinoma must be considered in patients who present with a...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Colorectal cancer

Causes of Colorectal cancer

• Familial polyposis

Read more about causes of Colorectal cancer

More information about causes of Colorectal cancer:

• Underlying causes of Colorectal cancer
• Colorectal cancer as a complication caused by other conditions
• Colorectal cancer as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Colorectal cancer

Treatments for Colorectal cancer

• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy
  • External radiation
  • Internal radiation
• Surgery

See full list of 9 treatments for Colorectal cancer

Videos for Colorectal cancer

Patient Surveys for Colorectal cancer

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Colorectal cancer
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Colorectal cancer

More about prognosis of Colorectal cancer

Reseach about Colorectal cancer

Visit our research pages for current research about Colorectal cancer treatments.

Clinical Trials for Colorectal cancer

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Colorectal cancer include:

• Safety Study of 90Y-hMN14 to Treat Colorectal Cancer - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - hMN14 (labetuzumab)
• CHROENDOHNPCC: Early Detection of Pre-Cancer Lesions in Adults With Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer Syndrome - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Safety Study of 90Y-hMN14 to Treat Colorectal Cancer Patients With Limited Residual Disease After Surgery - This study has been terminated (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - hMN14 (labetuzumab)
• A Safety and Effectiveness Study of Aroplatin in Patients With Advanced Colorectal Cancer Resistant to Standard Therapies - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Aroplatin (Liposomal NDDP, L-NDDP)
• A Safety and Effectiveness Study of Aroplatin in Patients With Advanced Solid Malignancies - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Aroplatin (Liposomal NDDP, L-NDDP)

See full list of 704 Clinical Trials for Colorectal cancer

Prevention of Colorectal cancer

Prevention information for Colorectal cancer has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Colorectal cancer.

• Early detection via screening tests:
  • Flexible sigmoidoscopy
  • Colonoscopy
  • Fecal occult blood test
• Healthy diet

Read more about prevention of Colorectal cancer

Statistics for Colorectal cancer

• Medical statistics for Colorectal cancer
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Colorectal cancer
• Death and Mortality statistics for Colorectal cancer
• Society statistics for Colorectal cancer

Types of Colorectal cancer

• Stages of colorectal cancer:
  • Stage 0 colorectal cancer - very early cancer of the lining.
  • Stage I colorectal cancer - involving the inner wall of colon or rectum.
  • Stage II colorectal cancer - cancer has spread locally beyond colon/rectum but not to lymph nodes.
  • Stage III colorectal cancer - spread to lymph nodes but not further.

See full list of 7 Types of Colorectal cancer

Stories from Users Related to Colorectal cancer

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• colon cancer?
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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Colorectal cancer, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is cancer of the colon or rectum. The colon and the rectum are part of the body's digestive system, which removes nutrients from food and stores waste until it passes out of the body. The colon and rectum form an almost 7 foot long muscular tube called the large intestine (also called the large bowel). (Source: excerpt from Colorectal Cancer: NWHIC)

Definitions of Colorectal cancer:

Colorectal carcinoma is a disease of Western-world lifestyle. Among both males and females, it is the second most common visceral malignancy in the United States, with an expected 185,000 new cases each year. Grossly, most colorectal carcinomas are either polypoid or of the ulcerative -infiltrating type. Adenocarcinoma is the most common carcinoma in the colon and rectum. Colorectal adenocarcinoma can be divided in three grades: Grade I (low grade or well-differentiated), grade II (average grade or moderately differentiated) and grade III (poorly differentiated). The following histopathologic features have been shown to be prognostic indicators in multivariate analysis: microacinar versus macroacinar growth pattern, endocrine cells detected by chromogranin immunohistochemistry, Crohn's-like reaction and tumor budding. The standard therapy for colorectal carcinoma is surgical resection. The 5-year crude survival rate after curative resection for colorectal carcinomas ranges between 40% and 60% in most large series (Sternberg's Diagnostic Surgical Pathology, 3rd ed., 1999). --2002 - (Source - Diseases Database)

A malignant tumor of the colon; early symptom is bloody stools - (Source - WordNet 2.1)