Colon cancer has becoming more prevalent in the past few decades. However, it is one of the cancers that can be prevented through positive lifestyle and eating habits. The common symptoms that are seen in colon cancer include bloody, pencil-shaped stools, weight loss, tumor growth, abnormal bowel habits, etc. As Adrouny (2002) noted, the available treatments for colon cancer can be chemotherapy, radiation, as well as surgical, the primary treatment option involved in this type of disease (P. 69). When performing a surgical incision of cancerous tissue, Colonoscopy is the tool that is widely employed for verifying the location of cancerous tumor and removing the surrounding tissues that may be affected (p.71). Prior to the surgery, radiation therapy is often given along with drugs to complete the treatment.
In the digestive system, the parts of the large intestine that can be affected by the disease are the colon and/ or rectum. Similar to other cancers, the process in which colon cancer develop can be initiated by various factors, such as steady environmental stresses or inherited abnormalities. Summarized by Adrouny (2002), the first carcinogenesis phase begins with a healthy cell that gets “turned on” into the pathway by accumulated mutation in its genetic material (DNA); this usually occur in the epithelium of mucosa. The cell would then start to grow and proliferate uncontrollably more than the body needs. In the next step, so-called the polyp phase, these clones undergo further genetic changes and form into a benign neoplasm, which grows and protrudes from the mucous membrane of the colon. After the cells of these polyp matured with further mutations, the polyp has now become a malignant tumor, with the ability to invade an...
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...ctivity by cross-linking the DNA strands, inhibiting DNA transcriptions, triggering immunologic death of cells, and inducing apoptosis. To contribute its anticancer effect, Irinotecan inhibits the release of an enzyme named topoisomerase I; this enzyme is to aid in DNA recombination, multiplication, and repair. If the enzyme is blocked, the DNA of the cells would be tangled and lead to programmed cell death (Scanio and Odle, 2010).
Each of these medications has its benefits in treating colon cancer, but combination regimen has proven to be stronger and recommended for maximum results. A research conducted by Scholefield concluded that combinations of medications using Oxaliplatine or Irinotecan with 5-FU/LV are shown to be more effective than using the 5-FU/LV alone. The synergism shows an increase in both response rate and progression free survival (2006, p.197).
Montaner, B. and Perez-Tomas, R. 2001. Prodigiosin-induced apoptosis in human colon cancer cells. Life sciences, 68 (17), p. 2025-2036.
Surgery is the most common treatment for all stages of colon cancer. Cancer cells may be removed by one of the below procedures:
Chemotherapy is the treatment of a tumor with chemical agents to reduce mass or eradicate a tumor completely. There are certain mechanisms by which chemotherapy inhibits cancer. The first mechanism is cell death by cytotoxicity. Some chemical agents in certain amounts are toxic to cells. The cells die due to the toxic...
Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women, responsible for more than 57,000 deaths in 2001 alone. Colon polyps, which can lead to colon cancer, are found in about 30-40% of people aged 60 or older- and the risks of polyps increase with age” (Lerche Davis, 2003). Most cases of colon cancer start as small adenomatous polyps. Many people experience no signs or symptoms in the early stages of colon cancer. Some signs and symptoms can include diarrhea, constipation, or any change in consistency of your stool that continues for longer than a month. Any bleeding from the rectum or blood found in the stool can also be a sign of colon cancer. Continuing abdominal pain, cramps, gas, weakness, fatigue and unexplained weight loss could all be signs of rectal cancer in the patient (Staff,
Due to the human genome project and other genetic research, tests for mutation which cause diseases have been developed. The list of these illnesses include several types of cancer. Doctors have estimated that as many as 3,000 diseases are due to mutations in the genome. These diseases include several types of colon cancer in which three different genetic tests have been already developed. Debates have arisen on whether these tests should be used regularly or not. Questions including the patients= rights of privacy and the possibility of loss of health or life insurance have been argued over in both the media and political arena.
Patients can receive surgery to prevent the continued development of colon cancer. However, they would still have to go to the doctors for regular medical follow-ups.
However, they are identified in people with colon cancer. The most abundant bacteria in our gut and causing cancer are Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. When colon tumor genes are analyzing, alterations in these genes are founded. APC and CTNNB1, P53 genes have deletions in people with colon cancer. In addition, DNA methylation at CpG islands are abnormal, and chromosomes are instable. All these DNA alterations mentioned due colon cancer are mentioned to occur in the stem cells in the base of the villus crypt. The crypt is occupied by a numerous of differentiated cells, which renew to generate epithelium after an injury. Bacteria induced DNA alteration, E. Coli downregulate DNA mismatch repair protein, so this mechanism enhance tumor formation. In the case of, Enteroccous faecalis produce aneuploidy in the epithelial cells, aneuploidy is an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell. Overall, there are many factors undelaying colon cancer that need to be studied. However, formation of cancer in the colon can take place due to reduction of protective bacteria, changes in energy uptake and metabolic disorders. For future considerations, it is important to understand the place that take the
Colon and rectal cancer develop in the digestive tract, which is also called the gastrointestinal, or GI, tract. The digestive system processes food for energy and rids the body of solid waste matter (fecal matter or stool). Colon cancer and rectal cancer have many features in common. Sometimes they are referred to together as colorectal cancer.
The Authors, members of the Curtis Lab at Stanford University, propose and justify the Big Bang model for colorectal tumor growth. This model is dependent on several characteristics found in samples including the absence of selective sweeps, uniformly high intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) and subclone mixing in distant regions. The model concludes that mutations occurring early in the tumor development will have a larger effect on overall tumor composition compared to later mutations in spite of the fitness advantages presented by either mutation. This model also provides a possible biomarker for determination of malignant vs benign phenotypes from the primordial tumor. Carcinomas were
Colon cancer, also referred to as colorectal cancer, is a cancer of the colon or the rectum. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of death in both men and women and is the third most common malignancy in the United States (Kim). The following will discuss how colon cancer develops, signs and symptoms, causes, and clinical tests used to detect the disease. Prognosis, prevention, and treatment options will also be discussed.
A research program from among those funded by the American Cancer Society. One of the programs funded by ACS is the Colon Cancer ( Color ectal Cancer Program). American Cancer Society in collaboration with the National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have extensively identified areas of collaboration in dealing with colon and rectal cancer. The areas identified are: Epidemiology , surveillance, environmental approaches of health care systems characteristics and community progress link to clinical services. All these areas work in joint with public health, Federal agencies , community agencies and church organizations in providing material support in form education and information, support groups, referrals and Spiritual support. Since 1999 the screen for life National Colorectal Cancer action organization was formed to raise awareness and increase men/ women 50 years and older who are at risk. For more than 70 years, Colon and Rectal Cancer research has been helping find answers to critical questions about colon and rectal cancer, causes, prevention and detection and questions on how to improve the patients' quality of life. American Cancer Society has been providing grants for the research on colon cancer to individual researchers, universities and hospitals that are actively involved in this research. Some of the work on progress are the Toolkit which is available for screening, colonoscopy procedures to check for polyps every 10 years, barium enema and cat scan every 5 years, creating a centralized scheduling systems for people over 50 years for screening and also providing diversified yellowish alertness (ACS) that lets the providers aware of the details for the screening. Other measures being taken are research and training, exploring why obesity increases the risk, awareness related to changes the way the body metabolizes iron which in turn leads to
Some symptoms of colon cancer are abdominal distension; this occurs when the stomach sticks out without weight gain. Abdominal pain is also a common symptom. Unexplained nausea or vomiting could be a sign of colon cancer, unexplained weight loss is also a symptom. Change in frequency or character of stool is a common symptom. Rectal pain or bleeding is a known symptom of this cancer. Most people commonly attribute there rectal bleeding to hemorrhoids, thus preventing early diagnosis. Fatigue and paleness might be a result of the rectal bleeding. Studies suggest that the average duration of symptoms is fourteen weeks. There is no association between
Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of
Consequently, chronic UC patients have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). There are no truly effective treatments for UC at the present. Accordingly, the risk of developing CRC remains high. Thus, the development of novel treatment approaches for this disorder is required to attenuate the inflammatory response, prevent mucosal damage and facilitate mucosal healing (Abimosleh et al, 2012).
...gens are exogenous (outside the cell) and will be presented to helper T cells to initiate an immune response. This can trigger cytotoxic T cells to kill cancer cells with the same antigen – often HPV viral proteins in cervical cancer. T cells may not be activated to their full potential – recall that the inhibitory receptor CTLA-4 on T cells sends a stronger signal than CD28, the activating receptor. Ipilimumab is added to treatment for this reason. It will work in conjunction with the released antigens, activating the T cells that can respond to the antigens and create an immune response against the cancer cells (LACC article). Adding ipilimumab to the chemo/radiation treatment would enhance the immune system’s ability to respond to the antigen released by the treatment. This is the first time a treatment like this has been suggested for cervical cancer (LACC).