The medical and social aspects of colorectal cancer

Abstract

Introduction. Colon cancer is a major health problem due to its consequences on social, economic, ecological and geographical aspects. Last decades it becomes one of the main cause of premature mortality, increased morbidity and disability. Aim of the study. To evaluate the particularities of colorectal cancer and of the medical and social aspects of this phenomenon. Materials and methods. We performed a retrospective study on a group of patients with colorectal neoplasia, who were investigated and treated in the oncological proctology department of the Institute of Oncology between January and December 2016. The study included primarily diagnosed cases before or after surgical intervention. Data on the main risk factors, demography and tumor location have been collected from medical records. Results. The main medical and social aspects of 645 subjects included in the study were analyzed. Analysis by gender revealed the predominance of males, 356 (55.2%) versus female, 289 (44.8%). The proportion of patient diagnosed with cancer is increasing with age: up to 49 years-59 (9.1%) patients; 50-59 years-152 (23.5%) patients; 60-69 years-283 (44%) patients; over 70- 151 (23.4%) patients. Most of the patients originate from urban area, 330versus 315 from rural one. The main location of the tumor is colon - 386 (59.8%), followed by rectum - 216 (33.5%) and recto sigmoid junction - 43 (6.7%) of cases. Colon / rectal cancer ratio = 1.8 / 1. Prevalence of the risk factors among the patients was: by BMI: 240 (37.2%) were overweight, and109 (16.9%) were obese; by tobacco consumption status:192 (29.8%) were smokers and 453 (70.2%) were non-smokers; by alcohol consumption: 106 (16.4%)never consumed alcohol and 498 (6.3%) were consuming alcohol occasionally -498 (77.3%), daily- 41 (6.3%). Nine out of 10 patients - 591 (91.63%) had no a family history of colorectal cancer, 24 (3.72%) – had relatives of degree I, and 30 (4.65%) had relatives of degree II-III affected by cancer. Conclusions. The proportion of patients with cancer is increasing with age. The larger number of urban patients is probably due to the higher accessibility to health care in comparison with rural areas. Colon located tumors are prevalent compared to other locations. Being overweight or obese and alcohol consumption increase the risk for colorectal cancer confirming the results of other studies.