Be cautious about rectal cancer metastasis

Rectal cancer is a very dangerous disease that is difficult to cure. If it is not treated properly, it may metastasize and threaten the patient's life. So, what are the ways in which rectal cancer metastasizes? Let's ask the experts to tell us in detail about rectal cancer metastasis .

The main ways in which rectal cancer metastasizes are:

1. Hematogenous metastasis: 34%, mostly to the liver, then the lungs, then the bones, brain, and ovaries. Very rarely, it metastasizes to the adrenal glands or kidneys.

2. Local spread: First, the cancer spreads within the intestinal wall. It takes about 2 years for the cancer to grow around the intestinal wall. After the cancer infiltrates into the muscular layer, it is easy to metastasize through the blood. The cancer can also invade the entire intestinal wall and even the organs around the intestine (such as the bladder, prostate, uterus, small intestine, liver, stomach, pancreas, etc.).

3. Lymphatic metastasis: accounting for 60%. Colon cancer cells pass through the intestinal wall through the submucosal lymphatic network → intestinal wall lymph nodes → paracolic lymph nodes → intermediate lymph nodes → central lymph nodes (main lymph nodes) → para-aortic lymph nodes → supraclavicular lymph nodes.

Rectal cancer cells travel along the intestinal wall lymphatic tract → para-intestinal lymph nodes → lymph nodes beside the superior rectal artery or sigmoid artery → lymph nodes beside the inferior mesenteric artery → lymph nodes beside the abdominal aorta → supraclavicular lymph nodes. The lymphatic drainage of the rectum is divided into two groups, the upper and lower groups. The lower group is below the dentate line and flows into the inguinal lymph nodes through the perineum. Since the upper and lower groups of lymphatic networks have extensive anastomosis with each other, rectal cancer can also metastasize to the inguinal lymph nodes through the lymphatic tract, which is also one of the ways for rectal cancer to metastasize.

4. Implantation and metastasis: There are three common ways of implantation. One is that when cancer cells invade outside the serosa, the detached cancer cells are implanted in the abdominal and pelvic peritoneum to form cancer nodules. Another is that cancer cells from cancerous tissue in the intestinal cavity are detached and implanted in nearby mucosal damage. Implantation is impossible when the mucosa is intact, which may be one of the reasons why colorectal cancer often has multiple lesions. The third is iatrogenic implantation during surgery.

The above is an introduction to "rectal cancer metastasis" for reference only. There are many ways for rectal cancer to metastasize. When rectal cancer metastasizes, the disease will cause greater harm to us. If you have other questions about rectal cancer metastasis, please consult our online experts for more information.

For more information, please visit the rectal cancer special topic at http://www..com.cn/zhongliu/zca/ or consult an expert for free. The expert will then give a detailed answer based on the patient's specific situation.