Rectal cancer likes these people! Be careful not to get caught

In my country, colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors. The latest statistics show that the incidence rate of colorectal cancer is 29.44/100,000 and the mortality rate is 14.23/100,000, ranking third and fifth among malignant tumors respectively, and the trend is increasing year by year.

Colorectal cancer patients often have no symptoms at the onset, but by the time they are discovered, they have already entered a helpless stage of "no way out". In clinical practice, we often see that some people may only have changes in bowel habits, such as people with long-term constipation suddenly have diarrhea, or blood in their stools, and go to the hospital to see a doctor, only to find out that they have colorectal cancer.

Literature statistics show that the 5-year survival rate of early-stage colorectal cancer after treatment can reach more than 90%; the 5-year survival rate of mid-stage colorectal cancer is 50% to 70%; and the 5-year survival rate of late-stage colorectal cancer is less than 10%. Therefore, the earlier colorectal cancer is discovered, the better the prognosis. If you want to catch the "clues" of early colorectal cancer in time, colonoscopy should be given priority.

1. Have a keen eye for recognizing colorectal cancer

Before a colonoscopy, patients need to prepare in advance, that is, clean their intestines. When their intestinal excrement is close to clear water, the endoscopist will insert a hose with a camera into the patient's anus, observe the morphology of the intestinal mucosa under the endoscope, and carefully look for traces of cancer cells. If the doctor suspects that a lesion may become cancerous, he will use biopsy forceps to obtain the tissue there and send it to the pathology department for further examination.

With the rapid development of endoscopic technology, more advanced equipment such as magnifying endoscopes, confocal endoscopes, and ultrasound endoscopes are now available for doctors to use. Among them, magnifying endoscopes can observe the openings of local mucosal gland ducts, which can approach or achieve the effect of non-invasive pathological diagnosis. Ultrasound endoscopes can determine the depth of cancer cell infiltration. For example, if the cancer cells of early colorectal cancer are judged to occur only in the surface layer of the intestinal mucosa under endoscopy, mucosal resection can also be performed directly under endoscopy to achieve a radical cure.

If polyps are found, do not tolerate them

2. When it comes to colorectal cancer, we have to talk about polyps. A large number of research results have confirmed that polyps are a high-risk factor for cancer. The polyps mentioned here are adenomatous polyps. According to the morphology of the glandular ducts of adenomatous polyps, they are divided into tubular, villous, or a mixture of the two. The higher the proportion of villous polyps or villous components in polyps, the higher the risk of cancer. The larger the diameter of the polyp, the greater the risk of cancer.

According to research statistics, the risk of canceration for polyps larger than 1 cm is about 10%, and the canceration rate for polyps larger than 2 cm can rise to about 40%. Therefore, experts recommend that polyps larger than 5 mm can be treated with endoscopic intervention, such as endoscopic electroresection. For polyps smaller than 5 mm, regular observation and follow-up are required. Even if polyps become malignant and turn into early colorectal cancer, as long as the depth of polyp infiltration does not exceed the mucosal layer, endoscopic treatment such as mucosal resection or submucosal dissection can also achieve a radical cure.

3. High-risk groups need to undergo regular colonoscopy

It is recommended that the following groups be listed as high-risk groups for colorectal cancer:

Positive stool occult blood; first-degree relative has a history of colorectal cancer; previous history of intestinal adenoma; personal history of cancer and changes in bowel habits.

In addition, people who meet any two of the following conditions (chronic diarrhea, chronic constipation, mucus and blood in stool, chronic appendicitis or history of appendectomy, chronic cholecystitis or history of cholecystectomy, long-term mental depression) are at high risk of colorectal cancer and need regular check-ups.