Colorectal cancer

Published on June 30, 2024   28 min

A selection of talks on Gastroenterology & Nephrology

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0:00
Hello, everybody. My name is Dr. Emma Short, and I work as a consultant pathologist specialising in gastrointestinal and soft tissue pathology. The talk today will explore colorectal cancer, which is also known as bowel cancer.
0:21
During the talk today, we will look at the epidemiology of bowel cancer, the aetiology, or causes, of bowel cancer, and we'll consider the clinical aspects of bowel cancer, particularly how it may present, how it's diagnosed, and how it's managed in clinical practice. We will end by discussing a case study. Please note, the case study describes a fictitious patient.
0:52
One of the reasons why it's important to be aware of bowel cancer is because it's extremely common. Overall, bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, and it's the second most common cause of cancer-related death. If we look at females and males separately, we will see that it's the third most common cancer, second to breast and lung in females and prostate and lung in males. Overall, bowel cancer will affect 1 in 20 females and 1 in 17 males. The incidence of bowel cancer increases as we get older. The incidence rates are highest in people aged between 85 to 89 years of age, but nearly half of cases are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over. We find that there is a high incidence of bowel cancer in developed countries, with a 20-fold increased incidence compared to developing countries, and this is thought to be due to lifestyle differences, particularly differences in diet. The prognosis of bowel cancer is very much dependent upon its stage, so how extensive the disease is. Overall, over 50% of people diagnosed with bowel cancer will live for at least ten years following their initial diagnosis.

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