4 clinical symptoms of rectal cancer

Rectal cancer refers to the cancer between the junction of the sigmoid colon and rectum and the dentate line. It is one of the most common malignant tumors in the digestive tract. At present, rectal cancer is clinically classified into: ulcer type, mass type and invasive type, and histologically classified into: adenocarcinoma (tubular adenocarcinoma, papillary carcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma), adenosquamous carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma. Lymphatic metastasis is the main way of its metastasis and spread, and it can also directly infiltrate the surrounding tissues and metastasize through blood circulation.

【Clinical manifestations】

(I) Blood in the stool: This is one of the common symptoms of rectal cancer. In the early stage of the disease, about 80% of patients have blood in the stool. The amount of bleeding is small at first and can be seen on the surface of the stool. After infection, it is often accompanied by bloody stool.

(ii) Rectal irritation symptoms: frequent urge to defecate, change in bowel habits, discomfort of anal prolapse before defecation, tenesmus, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. In late stages, it invades the anterior sacral nerve, often accompanied by severe pain.

(III) Symptoms of intestinal obstruction: Cancer invades the intestine and causes intestinal stenosis. Initially, the stool becomes deformed and thinner. When the intestine is partially obstructed, it is often accompanied by obstruction symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and hyperactive bowel sounds.

(IV) Associated symptoms: In late stage, when the cancer invades the prostate and bladder, frequent urination, urgent urination, painful urination, and hematuria may occur. In late stage, when liver metastasis occurs, there may be ascites, hepatomegaly, jaundice, anemia, weight loss, fatigue, cachexia, etc.