• The third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.
• Prognosis: Early-stage colon cancer is treatable, with a 5-year survival rate of over 90%. The survival rate decreases with cancer progression.
For more information visit: American Cancer Society
• Diagnosis: Polyps are removed during colonoscopy and assayed for cancer using histopathology.
• Surgery: Cancer is excised, major vascular pedicle feeding the tumor along with its lymphatics is removed, and at least a 5-cm margin of normal bowel on either side of the tumor is resected to minimize recurrence.
• Radiation and chemotherapy: Follow the surgery
• Colonoscopy, polyp excision and pathology is the main route to diagnose CRC.
• Colonoscopy is invasive in nature and is associated with risks (bleeding, perforation and infection).
• Reluctance to go for colonoscopy
• The stool testing (FIT or fecal immunochemical test and Colorguard - abnormal DNA and blood in stool) have limited sensitivity and specificity.
• Significant false positives (as much as 13%) and false negatives (as much as 60%), rendering them risky and missed opportunities to save lives.
• Late detection is always associated with significant metastasis and poor outcome with loss of lives at high cost.
