There’s a whole lot more to colon cancer prevention than just colonoscopy.
A key here is understanding the progression of the cancer and polyps developing before it, according to experts. An important first step here is colonoscopy, but the condition still demands a larger, more comprehensive prevention plan.
3 Key Influences In Colon Cancer
Dr. Joel Levine, who co-founded the Colon Cancer Prevention Program of UConn Health, harped on the interaction of three broad areas in better understanding colon cancer.
"The key is the interaction of three broad areas: insulin biology, inflammation biology, and the billions of species of bacteria in the colon, the microbiome,” he said in a UConn report.
Insulin biology is anything that affects insulin levels, insulin-linked proteins, as well as insulin resistance. Such are risk factors collectively known as metabolic syndrome and cover risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and a sedentary lifestyle.
Cellular inflammation is an invisible process for the patient, and it often signals a bacterial shift in the colon. Plenty of inflammatory signaling, Levine explained, leads to damage to one’s genes, DNA, and other cellular elements. It could set the stage for more mutations, which could result in the development of colon polyps with their own specific history.
Changes in one’s microbiome, composed of the billions of species in one’s gut and body, are linked to certain outcomes such as colon cancer.
“Further evidence has demonstrated a relationship between specific bacteria and specific molecular pathways for colon polyps,” Levine added.
Predicting Polyps
Colonoscopy identifies most polyps, yet recognizes inflammation as well as bacterial changes can offer red flags before actual polyp formation. And while this detection tool is crucial, it is also deemed a must to lower a person’s risk profile in between colonoscopies.
Levine said, for instance, that they have not seen a colon cancer case in patients they follow in their risk identification and reduction program in the last five years. This also takes into account the fact that under normal circumstances, there is up to a 10-year interval for polyps to form, so regular monitoring proves critical.
Their center tracks molecular-level changes between colonoscopies via a form of the fecal immunochemical test, which is tasked to measure protein in blood in a stool sample in billionths of one gram.
According to colorectal surgeon Dr. Jitesh Patel, colorectal cancer is around 90 percent treatable when discovered in the earliest stages.
“While a colonoscopy may not be a fun experience, it could save your life,” he wrote in a commentary, highlighting this diagnostic tool is recommended for everyone starting age 50 or much younger if one is high-risk. Blacks, for one, should be screened at 45 years old or younger.
The American Cancer Society noted that colorectal cancer emerges as the third leading cause of death related to cancer in the United States. But while it generally affects people in their 50s, a new report warned that colon and rectal cancers are on the rise among young adults.
And the condition has “very, very subtle” signs and symptoms, earning it the title of being an invisible disease.
