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Colon Cancer

Kento Sonoda, MD and Mako Wakabayashi, MD Reviewed 04/2024
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

  • Colon and rectal cancers (CRC) are often grouped together but are two distinct clinical entities that differ in their prognosis, presentation, staging and management.

  • CRC is the third...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

  • Microcytic, iron-deficiency anemia in men of any age and postmenopausal women should prompt a diagnostic colonoscopy.

  • Symptoms may indicate advanced disease.

    • Abdominal pain or cramping

    • C...

TREATMENT

ADDITIONAL THERAPIES

Adjuvant chemotherapy is most clearly beneficial for stage III (node-positive) disease, in which improvements of 30% can be achieved in both disease recurrence and overal...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

Patient Monitoring

  • Stage T1/T2 with no distant spread: colonoscopy in a year; if normal, repeat in 3 years, then every 5 years

  • Stage T3/T4 or lesser stage with posi...

REFERENCE

1
Shaukat A, Kahi CJ, Burke CA, et al. ACG Clinical Guidelines: Colorectal Cancer Screening 2021. Am J Gastroenterol. 2021;116(3):458-479.

CODES

ICD10

  • C18.9 Malignant neoplasm of colon, unspecified

  • C18.2 Malignant neoplasm of ascending colon

  • C18.8 Malignant neoplasm of overlapping sites of colon

  • C18.7 Malignant neoplasm of sigmoid colon

  • C18.6...

CLINICAL PEARLS

Microcytic, iron deficiency anemia in men and postmenopausal women is CRC until proven otherwise and colonoscopy should be performed. 

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