Colon cancer is a dangerous disease characterized by the presence of a malignant tumor and difficult to treat. Among other oncological diseases in terms of frequency of occurrence, this disease is far from the last place. Depending on which part of the large intestine the neoplasm is localized, the disease is divided into several types. Among them is sigmoid colon cancer.
What is the sigmoid colon
The term “sigmoid colon” in medicine is understood as a section of the large intestine, which smoothly passes into the rectum. Due to the peculiarities of its location in the human body, this section of the large intestine is very similar to the letter S, which is at a slight inclination.
The sigmoid colon is tightly fixed with other parts of the intestine with the help of the thick peritoneum. Its main task is the formation of fecal masses. In the body of a he althy person, this process occurs constantly, and substances that enhance peristalsis contribute to this.
Features of sigmoid colon cancer
This type of cancer is one of the mostcomplex and dangerous, it is not without reason that it is often called the “silent killer”. This name can be explained by the features of the course of the disease. A thick layer of the peritoneum blocks the appearance of pain (symptoms indicating a pathology in the body). Because of this, cancer is detected too late, when the chance of recovery is already quite small. In addition, tumors here develop extremely slowly (this is facilitated by a special circulatory system in the large intestine).
Among patients there are people of different ages, but most often this diagnosis is made to those who have already reached the age of 40. As for the gender of cancer patients, there are approximately equal numbers of men and women among them.
Causes of disease development
Despite numerous studies in this area, the exact causes of colon cancer are not known to science, but there are a number of factors that, according to doctors, increase the risk of the disease. In the list of the most likely:
- genetic predisposition to bowel cancer (the presence of cancer in close relatives indicates the possible development of sigmoid colon cancer in a particular person);
- chronic course of certain diseases affecting the large intestine (such as diverticulosis, colitis, Crohn's disease);
- polyps;
- age-related changes in the tissues lining the intestinal wall;
- wrong diet, the predominance of fried, fatty, smoked foods, the abuse of fast food;
- low activity (this is expressed by sedentary work, lack of physical activity onorganism);
- bad habits (traditionally, this category includes the frequent use of alcohol, tobacco, and other products with a high content of carcinogens);
- complications after abdominal surgery.
How do these factors affect the condition of the large intestine? The fact is that the stagnation of feces in the large intestine caused by malnutrition and habits provokes stretching of its walls and growth of the epithelium. Neoplasms that appear often develop into malignant ones.
Types of cancer
Depending on the tissues in which the tumor develops, sigmoid colon cancer is divided into several types.
Adenocarcinoma. This type is considered the most common, accounting for about 80% of bowel cancer cases. In this case, malignant cells develop in the glandular layer of the epithelium.
Mucoid adenocarcinoma. Initially, tumor cells are located in the mucous layer. In this case, doctors do not give the most favorable prognosis.
Ricoid cell cancer. The most rare cases (only 3-4% of all cases of bowel cancer), the prognosis for sigmoid colon cancer in this case is not very favorable.
Symptoms
The main danger of this disease is that the symptoms are completely absent at first. The tumor grows quite slowly, so many cancer patients may not be aware of the presence of sigmoid colon cancer for several years.
Howevereven in the case of early onset of symptoms, only a small percentage of cancer patients go to the clinic for examination. This behavior is explained by the fact that a malignant tumor effectively disguises itself as other less dangerous diseases. Common symptoms of sigmoid colon cancer include:
- appearance of pain in the abdomen;
- stool disorders (constipation or, on the contrary, loose stools may appear);
- decreased or complete lack of appetite;
- dramatic change in taste preferences;
- weight loss for no particular reason;
- change in the general condition of a person, which is expressed by increased fatigue, weakness, apathy.
All these symptoms can suddenly appear and also suddenly disappear, so a person often associates this condition with poisoning, stress, and other phenomena that do not require serious treatment.
As sigmoid colon cancer progresses, symptoms also change. At this stage, characteristic symptoms appear:
- constant abdominal pain;
- appearance of blood impurities in the feces;
- signs of chronic intoxication (digestive disorders, yellowish or earthy skin color, constant fatigue, allergic reactions);
- intestinal obstruction;
- bleeding profusely;
- multiple abscesses.
Stages of the disease
Like all cancers, a sigmoid tumor is acceptedconditionally divided into 4 stages:
- 1 stage is characterized by the presence of a small (only a few millimeters) neoplasm. It is extremely difficult to identify the disease at this stage. All symptoms are completely absent.
- 2 stage. Tumor growth is noted, malignant cells grow into the deep layers of the intestinal wall. The only thing that can alert a person is more frequent constipation.
- 3 stage. The growth of the tumor leads to its spread to neighboring organs or nearby lymph nodes. This indicates the appearance of metastases in sigmoid colon cancer. Of the symptoms, there is a violation of the digestive process, pain.
- 4 stage. This stage is characterized by the appearance of metastases (most often it is the liver that is affected), large tumor sizes and pronounced symptoms.
Diagnosis of bowel cancer
Diagnosis of sigmoid colon cancer is extremely important for making an accurate diagnosis and prescribing a course of therapy. The whole process is divided into several stages.
Collecting disease data. This stage begins with an initial inspection. The doctor examines the patient, collects data on symptoms, previous diseases, the general condition of the patient and his habits. Palpation is performed for a “hard” abdomen.
Blood and urine tests. An increased content of certain substances in the composition indicates malfunctions in the body.
Colonoscopy. During this procedure, the large intestine is examined using an endoscope (a thin flexible tube equipped with a mini camera). Thanks to this study, doctors are able to obtain data on the condition of the large intestine and the presence (or absence) of a neoplasm.
Irrigoscopy is a procedure that is an x-ray examination using contrast.
MRI (or magnetic resonance imaging). During the examination, data such as the location of the tumor, its size, the presence or absence of metastases are established.
Biopsy. This procedure consists in the study of cells taken from the tumor tissue. This allows you to identify the nature of the neoplasm (benign tumor or malignant). Most often, samples are removed during a colonoscopy.
Sigmoid cancer treatment
There are several methods of treating colon cancer. The doctor makes the choice in favor of one or another method based on the data obtained during the diagnosis. Complex treatment is often used.
Surgery. This method of treatment involves surgery, during which the affected tissue is removed. This approach is considered the most effective, especially in cases where the tumor has not metastasized yet. However, even if they are present, surgical intervention is not excluded, it is only supplemented with other methods of therapy.
Radiation therapy. Such treatment is characterized by exposure to ionizing radiation. Its action is based on the destructive effect on tumor cells, as a result of which they lose the ability to further develop and grow. For cancersigmoid colon treatment of this kind is only used as an adjunct to surgery. However, it can be given before or after removal of sigmoid colon cancer.
Chemotherapy. This treatment option involves the use of strong chemicals that can destroy malignant cells. In the body, such drugs are delivered intravenously (by means of a dropper), while they are prescribed in courses. The duration and number of courses in each case are selected individually depending on the stage of oncology, the presence of metastases and the age of the patient.
Treatment prognosis
In general, doctors report a moderately favorable prognosis. For cancer of the sigmoid colon after surgery, the prognosis gives the following indicators:
- with a tumor that has not spread beyond the mucosal tissue, the survival of patients over the next 5 years is 98-100%;
- in the presence of metastases to near and far organs, the survival rate in the next 5 years is reduced to 40%.
In other words, despite all the danger posed by sigmoid cancer, modern medicine can save a person from the disease or significantly prolong life. To achieve this goal, not only effective complex treatment is required, but also timely diagnosis. In order to recognize oncology in time, you should regularly undergo a medical examination.
