Why Colorectal Polyps Are Important In Colon CancerColorectal cancer affects one out of four individuals every year and accounts for more than five-hundred thousand cancer related deaths in the United States alone. Colorectal cancer starts from a colorectal polyp and if left undiagnosed, the polyp may eventually turn into cancer cells. No normal human being would like to undergo the ordeal of having the big “C” and its accompanying chemotherapeutic side-effects, loss of hair and loss of the body immune defenses. It is thus imperative for those who belong to the high-risk sector to know the various facts about colon cancer and how to keeps one’s colon healthy. Since colorectal cancer arises from a simple colorectal polyp that is very curable, then it can be prevented by undergoing colon cancer screening tests like Fecal Occult Blood testing and Colonoscopy. But to be able to scrutinize a colorectal polyp before undergoing such laborious test, you need to know the definition of a colorectal polyp. Colorectal polyps can be medically defined as abnormal tissue growth that vary in size and appearance, that may look like a wart when small and characteristically grow to appear like a cherry on a stem or fig. These colorectal polyps turn into colorectal cancer cells in a matter of ten years or so if left untreated. A polyp in the colon or rectum is usually benign and usually produces no symptoms. However, they may cause bleeding that is either apparent to the naked eye or not; this bleeding may also cause anemia in some worse case scenarios. You should also know that the comparative risk of a patient developing colorectal cancer with a colorectal polyp greater than one centimeter in diameter compared to a patient with a lower colorectal polyp diameter remains to be high, while the relative risk of a patient to develop colorectal cancer from a polyp that has not been removed is 8.0 compared to a 2.3 for a patient who has undergone surgical removal of a colorectal polyp. Also, a colorectal polyp's chance developing into cancerous tissue is dependent upon the result of histopathologic examinations post-surgery, wherein gross size, shape and feature as well Hematoxylin and eosin microscopic examinations come into play. The pathologist will then decide if the tissue is cancerous, then necessary treatment such as chemotherapy may be in order for the patient. Colorectal Polyps with atypia dysplasia (not the common form of abonormal tissue growth) have the highest chance of developing into colorectal cancer. The risk of colorectal cancer is comparatively higher in larger sessile villous adenomas (non-moving abnormal villi epithelial growth) than pedunculated tubular adenoma (abnormal epithelial growth connected by a thin process of tissue). The good thing is that only 10% of adenomatuos polyps are villous adenoma, whereas 65% are tubular adenomas. Large adenomas may require numerous sessions of colonoscopy to be completely removed. Now that we know what polyps are, why do polyps turn into colorectal cancer then? The common is risk factor is age, then heredity, next lifestyle. Age is obvious, for as you grow older your body and its organs degrade in time. You should also know that genes dictates most of the disease process that you are going to experience in life; if you have an oncogene, then your risk of developing colorectal cancers as well as other cancers unfortunately remains high. Now, lifestyle also remains to be one of the reasons as to why colorectal polyps can develop into colorectal cancer. High-risk habits include a sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, continuous intake of alcohol, smoking, and a diet of charred food and high-cholesterol. And without changing the way we live, we may have a higher of chance developing a colorectal polyp that if left undiagnosed, may turn into colorectal cancer. |