Pathophysiology of Colorectal Cancer

Pathophysiology of Colorectal Cancer
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Pathophysiology of Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer arises from the sigmoid colon, one of the four section of the colon that include the ascending, descending, transverse and sigmoid colon. In the case of Ms. B, a 70 year-old woman from Barbados, her colorectal cancer seemed to be arising from the ascending colon. It is a heterogeneous disease occurring in the rectum and the colon, which form parts of the gastrointestinal system. In many cases, the disease slowly develops from adenomatous adenomas or polyps and the intestinal epithelium is known to have a high rate of turnover and this makes a common area of malignant transformations such as the case of colorectal cancer (Aran, Victorino, Thuler & Ferreira, 2016). In the case of Ms. B, the colorectal surgeon had confirmed that her polyp could be cancerous after conducting a colonoscopy test. In earlier studies, Vogelstein described a model for colorectal cancer pathogenesis claiming that a number of genetic events could lead to morphological changes in the affected tissues. While Vogelstein’s model has been referenced for nearly two decades, an increasing number of studies have shown colorectal cancer could be caused by multiple factors, which include both inherited and acquired factors an individual accumulates over their lifetime (Aran, Victorino, Thuler & Ferreira, 2016). Lifestyle changes are frequently recommended today as a way of preventing colorectal cancer incidents (N. Hou, D.Huo, & Dignam, 2013). In Ms. B’s case, the doctor advised her to change her lifestyle and commit to proper nutrition and plenty of physical exercise prior to surgical operation to enhanced recovery. Ms. B does not like physical exercise and prefers to eat her home prepared Banjan meals. With the help of a kinesiologist and a nutritionist, a home-based program for physical exercise was recommended and the nutritionist suggested that Ms. B takes plenty of Whey proteins to efficiently fuel her muscles.
Colorectal cancer, as early indicated, originates from the mucosal polyps of the colon. One of the critical parameter of colonic polyps that make this site to be potentially malignant is its histology. Two hyperplastic polyp are known to histological exist: the adenomatous polyps and the hyperplastic forms (Cappell, 2005). Hyperplastic polyps are known to contain large numbers of glandular cells with a characteristic of declined cytoplasmic mucus. However, these cells lack atypia, hyperchromatism, or stratification. Most of the colon cancers that have been shown from pathological, clinical, and epidemiological findings, arise from adenomas. More than 30 percent of all operative specimen with colon cancer have one or more synchronous adenomas (Cappell, 2005). This number is staggering compared to that obtained in age-matched controls devoid of colon cancer. At the same time, there is a high risk of colon cancer when the numbers of adenomatous polyps are high. Adenomatous tissues are also present contiguous to frank carcinoma...