Premise
Colon cancer (or colon cancer or colorectal cancer ) is, in 95-97% of the cases, an adenocarcinoma, a malignant tumor that originates from the epithelial cells of the intestinal mucosa.
This article is mainly devoted to the description of the typical symptoms of adenocarcinoma of the colon, the most common type of colon cancer.
| Most common localization of colon cancer: |
|
Symptoms
In other words, after a first asymptomatic phase, colon cancer presents with a broad symptomatic picture, little specific and dependent on its location along the large intestine.
Symptoms in general
The most common clinical manifestations of colon cancer are:
- Change in bowel habits (eg: alternation of diarrhea-constipation, changes in stool consistency, etc.);
- Rectal bleeding;
- Blood in the stool;
- Abdominal pain;
- Abdominal cramps;
- Abdominal swelling;
- Sensation of incomplete bowel emptying after defecation;
- Anemia;
- Weakness and ease of fatigue;
- Weight loss for no reason;
- Dyspnoea.
Read also: Colon Cancer Symptoms "
Symptoms of colon cancer located in the ascending colon
The symptoms of the ascending colon cancer (or right colon) appear with particular delay and this complicates the detection of the disease.
In general, the first clinical manifestation is a form of anemia, due to the chronic loss of small amounts of blood, where the tumor mass infiltrates and damages the nearby blood vessels.
From the presence of anemia, most of the other symptoms arise, which are: fatigue, fatigue, unexplained weight loss and dyspnea, sometimes even at rest ( dyspnea at rest ). Rarely, in these situations, the anemic state involves the presence, visible to the naked eye, of blood in the faeces ; it is much more probable, in fact, that blood is present in invisible traces (the so-called occult blood in faeces ).
To complete the typical symptomatological picture of ascending colon cancer are:
- Pain in the right abdominal quadrants . As a rule, it is a sensation that is not very intense and gravitational (that is, it oppresses);
- The presence of a palpable mass in the right abdominal region . This presence is particularly frequent in the more advanced stages of the neoplasm.
Summary of symptoms and typical signs of ascending colon cancer.
- Internal bleeding
- Anemia
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fatigue and fatigue
- Dyspnoea
- Pain in the right side of the abdomen
- Presence of a palpable mass in the right portion of the abdomen
- Faecal occult blood
Symptoms of colon cancer located in the descending colon and in the sigma
The symptoms of tumors located in the descending colon or in the sigma are mainly linked to the obstructive-occlusive effect, depending on the presence of the tumor mass inside the intestine (intestinal obstruction).
Usually, the onset manifestation consists in a massive, repetitive bleeding, mixed with the faeces or separated from them, and widely found on toilet paper, due to the vascular damage that the tumor mass determines, during the process of infiltration of the intestinal wall. As in the case of ascending colon tumors, even in the presence of descending colon or sigmoid neoplasms, the haemorrhages produced by the infiltration of the tumor mass involve anemia and a series of other disorders closely related to the anemic state, such as tiredness, dyspnea, fatigue etc.
After a short time from the first blood loss and from the onset of anemia, it follows in a completely independent way the appearance of: diarrhea alternating with constipation (the alternation can be days or hours), faeces of abnormal consistency and shape ribbon or snare, discomfort at the left abdominal quadrants, a sense of incomplete emptying of the intestine after defecation, burning and anal itching, and a sense of foreign body at the rectal level.
In the later stages, they complete the aforementioned symptomatic picture: the appearance of a palpable abdominal mass, severe pain and cramps in the left abdomen, and urinary and genital disorders.
What is bowel obstruction?
In the medical field, the condition characterized by the presence of a complete or semi-complete obstruction, within the intestinal lumen, such as to prevent the transit of digestion products, takes the name of intestinal obstruction or intestinal blockage .
If treatment is inadequate and timely, serious complications can result from severe bowel obstruction.
Why is bowel obstruction a characteristic of intestinal tumors along the descending-rectum colon line?
The phenomenon of intestinal obstruction is a peculiarity of intestinal tumors located along the descending-rectum colon, and NOT of the ascending colon intestinal tumors, as descending colon, sigma and rectum have a smaller diameter, compared to the previous portion of intestine.
Symptoms of colon cancer in the rectum
Possible variations concern, above all, the persistence and severity of some manifestations: for example, in rectal cancer, rectal bleeding is even more persistent and intense, and the production of ribbon-shaped stools and the sense of incomplete bowel emptying are a constant, even more than in the case of descending colon cancer or sigma.
Summary of symptoms and typical signs of descending colon cancer and sigmoid.
- Hemorrhage
- Anemia
- Change in bowel habits (alternating diarrhea-constipation, faeces with an irregular consistency and shape, etc.)
- Rectal bleeding
- Blood in the stool
- Abdominal pain, left
- Sensation of incomplete bowel emptying after defecation
- Burning and anal itching
- Sense of foreign body at rectal level
- Presence of a palpable mass in the left portion of the abdomen
- Strong abdominal cramps
- Urinary and genital disorders
- Other typical consequences of intestinal obstruction (nausea, vomiting, inability to defecate, loss of appetite, etc.)
Complications
Like most malignant tumors, colon cancer has an infiltrative power, which allows it, at an advanced stage of the disease, to invade anatomically adjacent organs and lymph nodes and to contaminate (taking advantage of the passage of part of the cancer cells anatomically distant organs and lymph nodes in blood vessels and lymphatic vessels.
Readers are reminded that tumor cells disseminated elsewhere from an advanced stage of malignancy are called metastases and that the process of dissemination of metastases - the so-called metastatization - seriously compromises - and almost always, without the possibility of recovery - the state of health of those who are its victims.
IN WHICH BODIES THE TUMOR AT COLON DISSEMINA METASTASI?
The most common target organ of colon cancer metastases is the liver ; the contamination of the latter occurs through the numerous blood vessels that collect blood from the intestine.
After the liver, the other organs most affected by metastasis of colon tumors are, in order: the lungs, bones and brain .
When should I go to the doctor?
According to experts, the issues that should prompt an individual to contact their treating physician immediately, for investigations, are: the change in bowel habits (alternating diarrhea-constipation, production of faeces from the abnormal shape etc.) and the presence of blood in the faeces.
It is important to remember that the guidelines relating to colon cancer recommend screening tests starting at 50-55 years of age, for people without a history a family history or heredity for the neoplasm in question, and starting at 40 years, for people who instead have the aforementioned familiarity or inheritance.
At the beginning, the symptoms of colorectal cancer could be confused with the symptoms of hemorrhoids or an enteritis .
